Nielsen Holdings announced on Tuesday that it would be acquired for $16 billion in cash and debt by a group of private equity firms led by Brookfield-Led consortium and Elliott Management Corp.
The deal’s equity value is $10.06 billion.
On Tuesday, a consortium led by Elliott Management Corp.’s private-equity arm and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. agreed to buy the company for $28 per share. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Tuesday that the two parties were on the verge of reaching an agreement.
Nielsen had been in advanced talks with private equity firms about going private in a deal worth $25.40 per share. Nielsen, on the other hand, rejected the deal last Sunday. WindAcre Partnership LLC, a Houston investment firm with a roughly 10% stake in the company and an additional 14 percent through swaps, told the company it would buy a large enough stake to block the transaction if it went through.
The Brookfield-Led consortium Deal Snatch
It was notified of the new agreement ahead of time, but has not indicated whether it supports it, according to people familiar with the situation. WindAcre did not respond immediately to a request for comment on Tuesday. The new deal price is roughly 60% higher than Nielsen’s share price before The Wall Street Journal reported a deal was in the works earlier in March. Nielsen’s stock rose sharply after that and remained elevated even after the talks broke down. They closed at $22.21 on Monday.
The transaction is fully funded and includes a 45-day “go-shop” period during which Nielsen can solicit bids from other bidders.
Nielsen & The Market
Nielsen measures TV ratings in the United States. Which provide audience estimates that networks use to sell commercial time. And reassure advertisers that they got what they paid for. Its grip is slipping as streaming gains traction and traditional broadcast and cable television lose viewers. The New York-based firm has introduced streaming metrics in recent years. Yet, it is just one of many players in that space.
Elliott has had a stake in Nielsen since 2018, when it called for the company to look into selling. Nielsen announced the following year that it would spin off a portion of its business. In order to form two separate public companies: Global Connect, a market-analytics operation that measures retail and consumer behavior, and the core media business.
Global Connect was acquired by Advent International Corp. last year for nearly $3 billion and is now known as NielsenIQ.
Brookfield, headquartered in Toronto, has a presence in over 30 countries. And approximately $690 billion in assets under management across alternative investment strategies. These include buyouts, real estate, infrastructure, and private credit.
Elliott, which manages approximately $52 billion, is best known for its activist investing. But has recently been active in private equity. Evergreen Coast Capital Corp., its private-equity arm, is handling the transaction.
According to Dealogic, Evergreen Coast has agreed to buy cloud computing company Citrix Systems Inc. With a partner in January, making it the third largest deal announced this year. The Nielsen transaction, valued at approximately $10 billion in equity, is also among the largest announced this year.
