The board of Hargreaves Lansdown said it is "willing to recommend unanimously” to shareholders a new takeover offer from a private equity consortium.
In an announcement, the company said a private equity-backed consortium had now put in an offer of £11.40 a share after a previous offer was rejected.
The offer, which values the FTSE 250 company at £5.4bn, has been made by a consortium including CVC Advisers, Nordic Capital XI Delta and Platinum Ivy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
The revised proposal is an increase on the £9.85 per share which the same consortium offered in late April.
It is subject to a number of pre-conditions, including completion of due diligence, and marks the fourth proposal from the consortium in recent months.
The Hargreaves Lansdown board confirmed the revised offer is “at a value” it would be willing to unanimously recommend to their shareholders should the consortium announce a “firm intention” to make an offer.
As a result, the board has requested, and had approved, an extension to the deadline by which the consortium must either announce a firm intention to make an offer.
Such an announcement must now be made by 5pm on July 19, 2024.
The consortium also proposed an option for Hargreaves Lansdown shareholders to elect for a rollover equity alternative in respect of some or all of their shares.
The rollover equity alternative would provide participating shareholders the opportunity to re-invest their shareholding and co-invest in the consortium’s unlisted acquisition vehicle.
A further announcement will be made “as and when appropriate”.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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