Nielsen to sell to private equity for US$16bn

News 30 Mar 2022 - 3 min read

Nielsen to sell to private equity for US$16bn

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"We are firmly convinced that Nielsen will continue to be the gold standard for audience measurement," Elliott Investment Management's partners said.

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Tags: Nielsen

Global ad measurement giant Nielsen has been bought by a private equity consortium for more than A$21 billion.

What you need to know:

Nielsen has been bought by a consortium of private equity firms for $16 billion, or US$28 per share.
The sale comes after earlier offers that were slightly lower.

Media measurement giant Nielsen will be acquired by a private equity firm for US$16 billion (A$21.3bn).

After holding out for a higher bid, Nielsen said it would be purchased by a group led by Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation, an affiliate of activist fund Elliott Investment Management L.P., and Brookfield Business Partners L.P.. The deal is for $28 per share, including the purchase of debt.

The offer is 10 per cent higher than the consortium’s earlier bid, and is a 60 per cent premium on when reports of the offer first emerged.

The FT reports the deal signals private equity buyers remain confident in Nielsen’s core business of measuring advertising reach, despite threats from streaming platforms like Netflix.
“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,” Elliott’s managing partner Jesse Cohn and senior portfolio manager Marc Steinberg said in a statement.

The sale comes as Standard Media Index’s largest shareholder, Bailador, sells its stake, raising questions as to who bought a large stake in another measurement company.