A group of private equity investors led by
Evergreen Coast Capital, an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management, and
Brookfield Business Partners along with institutional partners will pay $28 for
each outstanding Nielsen share.
Brookfield Business Partners will invest
approximately $2.65 billion via preferred equity, convertible into 45 percent
of Nielsen's common equity. The equity version of the deal is worth just over
$10 billion in cash, with the remainder in debt held by Nielsen.
Brookfield said Tuesday that it anticipates
investing approximately $600 million, with the remaining balance funded from
institutional partners.
Nielsen, based in New York City, turned
down the group's previous offer, saying it had significantly undervalued the
business. That offer was worth $25.40 per share, or about $9 billion before the
assumption of debt. After it accepted the revised over, shares of Nielsen
jumped 22 percent at the opening bell. The stock ended regular trading up 20.3
percent at $26.72 per share.
Nielsen has come under criticism for
failing to create new methods of capturing the amount of time people spend
watching streaming services, such as Netflix or Hulu. It has become a much more
complex task as people now load content on to phones, tablets, and other smart
devices.
Nielsen is attempting to address those
complaints and is expected to launch a new cross-media measurement tool by the
end of the year. Nielsen One, according to the company, can deliver more
comparable and comprehensive metrics across platforms ranging from traditional
televisions to a host of other digital and streaming services.
The board at Nielsen has voted unanimously
in support of the revised offer, and the company will go private if the
transaction closes.
However, there is a 45 day go-shop period
during which Nielsen can look at and accept other offers, but breaking the
agreement with the private equity group comes with a $102 million termination
fee.
The deal is expected to close in the second
half of this year. It still needs approval from Nielsen shareholders and
regulators.
0 comments:
Post a Comment