Private equity launches fresh swoop on UK
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Private equity launches another attack on another British company battered by the pandemic
Private equity plunged into another British company battered by the pandemic.
US-based Providence Equity has made an offer of 105 pence per share for London-listed Hyve Group, valuing the event organizer behind exhibitions and conferences such as the Pure London fashion fair at £306 million.
It suggests foreign suitors’ interest in British companies remains strong in the wake of Covid, as companies were bought out in what has been dubbed ‘pandemic looting’.
US-based Providence Equity has made an offer of 105 pence per share for London-listed Hyve Group, valuing the event organizer at £306 million
Shares in Hyve rose 16.3 percent, or 14 pence, to 100 pence, but are still more than 80 percent lower than pre-Covid as the industry struggles to recover.
Hyve, formerly International Trade Exhibitions, announced that it had received two proposals from Providence.
The first involved a possible offer of 101 pence per share before raising it to 105 pence. “Hyve’s board is considering the proposal and will make a further announcement in due course,” the company said in a statement.
Under the city’s takeover rules, Providence must make a bid or walk out before March 21.
Providence’s portfolio includes a majority stake in New York-listed software company DoubleVerify and control of the franchise arm of Spanish soccer giant Real Madrid.
Shares of Hyve have not recovered since the £900bn events industry came to a halt at the start of the pandemic.
But operating income in the 12 months to September 2022 was at 90 percent of its pre-Covid level, with the second half of the current year at 110 percent.
With the company recovering but not its share price, Investec analyst Alastair Reid said Providence’s offer was “too low” and added that the private equity firm was “potentially opportunistic.”
Hyve was founded in 1991 by the Shashoua family, who wanted to benefit from the transition of the former Soviet Union to a market economy.
Nearly all of its exhibitions now take place in advanced economies, having sold off a number of global operations in the past year.
Interest in takeovers in UK companies increased during Covid as bidders sought to take advantage of low price tags.
G4S, the AA, Asda, Morrisons and Ultra Electronics are among the companies bought in recent years.