FOR ALL of life's Ascentials: it may not be a supermarket, but the
The latest in line is a consortium of investors who want to buy its
As I reported on
While the structure of a transaction remains unclear, I understand at least one offer was submitted to Ascential's board in the last few weeks.
Yet for a company which professes to specialise in communications, it seems reluctant to practise what it preaches. Its external advisers' response yesterday to an enquiry about a price-sensitive deal was to not respond at all; while last week, it took an entire trading day to confirm that it was in exclusive discussions with
That reticence may not be wholly surprising.
Ascential's break-up plan, confirmed in January, referred to "a series of interdependent transactions" which would include the sale of WGSN, a US listing of its digital commerce assets, and a standalone listing for the events division.
It's hard to see that paying off for shareholders now, for a number of reasons.
Firstly, I suspect that Ascential investors underwhelmed by its share price performance would prefer the certainty of a cash offer for the Lions festival and Money 20/20 conference, even though it will presumably have been pitched at a discount to the board's expectations. Second, the prospects for a successful US listing, which always looked ambitious, seem much shakier in a turbulent IPO market. And third, the WGSN disposal talks are said to be at a meaningfully lower price than the £700m mooted at the start of the process.
For chairman
(c) 2023 City A.M., source