Private equity groups make £1.6bn takeover approach for Euromoney

Private equity groups Astorg and Epiris have approached FTSE 250-listed financial publisher Euromoney Institutional Investor with a £1.6bn buyout proposal.

The “possible cash offer” of £14.61 per share is the duo’s fifth approach to take the company private, with four previous offers from £11.75 to £13.50 per share, Euromoney said in a statement on Monday.

Euromoney said its board was in talks with the buyout groups, but added that “there can be no certainty that an offer will be made nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made”.

The offer is at a premium to Euromoney’s £10.88 share price and values the company’s equity at about £1.6bn. Epiris declined to comment and Astorg did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

The UK company, which owns the Euromoney financial magazine and runs exhibitions, has been planning an acquisitions spree after growing demand for its data services helped it recover from a collapse in events during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Its finance chief Wendy Pallot said in October that it had a “lot of firepower” for deals.

Euromoney’s shares plummeted at the beginning of the pandemic and have not returned to pre-Covid levels, though they have risen almost 16 per cent since the beginning of the year.

Private equity groups, many of which are sitting on large pools of committed capital ready to deploy, are increasingly looking to the UK stock market for bargain deals.

Under UK takeover rules, Astorg and Epiris have until July 18 to make a firm offer or walk away.