Hey Nielsen… Go Sell Yourself!
• Shares of Nielsen Holdings jumped 12 percent on Monday — and another 6 percent on Tuesday — after Elliott Management, the hedge fund founded and led by billionaire Paul Singer, revealed in an SEC filing that it has acquired some 30 million shares representing about 8.4 percent of the $9 billion company. The filing also indicated that Elliott (pictured) intends to push for a sale of Nielsen or its individual businesses.
CNBC reports that Elliott prefers that Nielsen sell itself entirely, as opposed to a specific business, citing “a person with knowledge of the plans.” Nielsen has already fielded interest from several private equity firms, a source said. The company has a long history with buyout firms, having been taken private by a consortium of six firms in 2006 for about $10 billion. Those firms — which include Carlyle, Blackstone and KKR — took Nielsen public about 7 1/2 years ago. Nielsen has engaged J.P. Morgan to help with the strategic review and assess takeover offers.
Elliott, a diversified hedge fund with about $35 billion in assets under management, is among the busiest investors in a strategy known as activism, whereby an investor takes a stake in a company that it believes to be undervalued and then pushes for specific changes. Nielsen was a prime candidate for that style of activism, given that its shares have fallen nearly 40 percent in the year through Friday. The company has faced a variety of challenges — not limited to a weak second quarter, lower guidance and the recent announcement that CEO Mitch Barns is retiring at the end of 2018.
A Nielsen spokesperson said, “Nielsen’s Board of Directors and management team are actively focused on executing the company’s strategy to achieve sustainable, profitable growth and drive long-term value creation for all shareholders. The board and management regularly engage with shareholders and welcome the views and perspectives of its owners, including Elliott.” [Photo from Wilipedia]
