Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC (LSE:ERM) is in talks with private equity firms Astorg and Epiris after they made a cash bid of 1,461p per share.
The FTSE 250-listed publishing and events company said the latest offer from the consortium, which values it at £1.6bn, follows four previous approaches at prices of 1,175p, 1,250p, 1,310p and 1,350p per share.
No adjustment will be made for the payment of the recently proposed interim dividend of 6.1p per share.
Astorg Asset Management has its headquarters in Paris, while Epiris is based in London.
As talks with the Euromoney board continue, the consortium has until 5pm on 18 July to make a firm offer or walk away.
Shares in Euromoney leapt 24% to 1,357.86p in early trading on Monday, which takes them back above levels seen just prior to the Covid outbreak two years ago.
The company made £7.6mln of pre-tax profit on first-half revenues of £184.6mln, it revealed last month, with subscriptions for its Fastmarkets data and news services growing strongly, its asset management investment research business stabilising, and demand for in-person events strengthening.
The consortium “clearly wants its hands” on Euromoney given the five potential offers, said analysts at AJ Bell.
“Euromoney has a lot of attractions to private equity – services which are in demand, a strong balance sheet and the opportunity to make big improvements to profit margins,” the analysts said, noting that bolt-on acquisitions have helped to strengthen its data intelligence capabilities.
“A takeover would be a short-term win for shareholders given how the latest proposal is at a significant premium to last Friday’s closing price of £10.94 but it would also see yet another quality business leave the UK stock market, which is negative for investors looking at the London Stock Exchange for long-term opportunities.”
** Update: adds broker comment **