Nielsen agrees to sweetened $10-bn offer from private equity group

Nielsen will go private for $10.06 billion in a sweetened deal with a consortium of private equity firms led by Brookfield Asset Management, days after the firm rejected a takeover bid from the group

Nielsen will go private for $10.06 billion in a sweetened deal with a consortium of private equity firms led by Brookfield Asset Management, days after the TV rating firm rejected a takeover bid from the group. 

The deal offers $28 for each Nielsen share, the company said on Tuesday, a premium of 60 per cent since early March when the deal talks were first reported. Shares of Nielsen jumped about 21 per cent in early trading. Nielsen had earlier this month rejected an offer of $25.40 per share from the consortium without naming the suitors. 

The offer was led by Brookfield and Elliott Management’s private equity arm, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. 

Nielsen gathers viewership data across TV, radio and digital platforms that are used by advertisers and others to determine prime-time hours, but it has been under pressure as more cord-cutters move to streaming. 

Activist investor Elliott had pushed Nielsen for a sale in 2018, forcing the market research company to consider splitting into two publicly traded firms a year later. 

But the plan was scrapped in 2020 when Nielsen decided to sell its consumer goods data unit for $2.7 billion to sharpen focus on its media business. Including debt, Tuesday’s deal is valued at $16 billion.