Daily Mail and General Trust PLC (LON:DMGT ) is set to be taken private again by its owner Rothermere Continuation if two other bits of corporate reshuffling go ahead.
The Daily Mail owner said it is currently in talks to sell its insurance risk business RMS, while it is prepared to pass on to investors its 16% holding in online car dealer Cazoo after it lists through a SPAC deal in New York.
If those two deals happen, DMGT shareholders will get a special dividend comprising cash estimated at 610p plus a share in Cazoo.
Rothermere, meanwhile, has indicated it will then make an offer worth £810mln or 251p per share for what’s left of DMGT including debt.
Rothermere Continuation is a vehicle of Lord Rothermere and his family, who are the ultimate owners of DMGT.
In a statement DMGT said: “The disposal of RMS would mark a further significant milestone in the transformation of DMGT, following the disposals in recent years of Hobsons, Genscape and Zoopla, which collectively realised c.£1.2 billion of value for DMGT, as well as the distribution of DMGT's c.50% stake in Euromoney.
“On top of the substantial cash proceeds that would arise from the sale of RMS, DMGT will have a further major asset upon completion of the business combination of Cazoo.”
In regards to the offer, DMGT’s independent directors have also said they regard the terms as fair and would be minded to recommend it.
90 years as a public company
DMGT is controlled by the Rothermere family, who own about 30% of the shares but all of the ones with votes.
The business was founded by the first Viscount Rothermere, Harold Harmsworth, in 1922.
Current chairman Jonathan Harmsworth, the fourth Viscount Rothermere, has overseen the group’s switch from a national and regional newspaper powerhouse to online content and services.
While the Daily Mail and Mail On Sunday newspapers might still be the best-known assets, it is the MailOnline website that is now the world’s largest English language news site.
DMGT also owns the freesheet Metro, the i newspaper, New Scientist, which it bought earlier this year as well and a share in financial publisher Euromoney.
Recently, the company has made hugely successful investments into property website Zoopla and online car dealer Cazoo, which has a value of US$7bn even though it has only just started up.
Analysts at Barclays have totted up the potential payment to shareholders from the cash special dividend, stake in Cazoo and offer from Rothermere and said it is worth 1,280p a share compared to 1,066p, up 2.5% today, for the non-voting A shares.
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