Nielsen bought for $16bn
March 29, 2022
A private equity consortium is to buy Nielsen for $16 billion (€14.3bn). A group of VCs led by Elliott Management and Brookfield Asset Management will pay $28 a share, up 10 per cent on their initial and a 60 per cent premium on the stock before the offer was launched.
Taking the business private, the consortium will inject $5.7 billion in equity and the remaining $10.3 billion will be provided by large banks and private lenders Nielsen’s bankers can still go and seek a higher bid from another buyer under a ‘go-shop’ clause valid for 45 days.
The investors evidently remain confident in Nielsen’s core business of measuring advertising reach on cable and broadcast, despite being threatened by the rise of streaming platforms such as Netflix. Nielsen has struggled to retain its dominance as an intermediary for buyers of advertising and battled cable and broadcast networks over its measurement data. The buyers point to Nielsen’s new measurement product, Nielsen ONE, which cuts across network television and streaming media in unveiling their deal.
“After months of deep market analysis, industry diligence and management reviews, we are firmly convinced that Nielsen will continue to be the gold standard for audience measurement as it executes on the Nielsen ONE road map,” said Elliot Management.