Searchlight Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in the United States, has agreed to acquire UK-based alternative investment manager Gresham House for £469m.
According to a stock exchange announcement, Gresham House and Seed Bidco Limited, a newly incorporated entity formed by funds advised by Searchlight Capital Partners, have reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended final cash offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Gresham House by Bidco.
Under the terms of the acquisition, each Gresham House shareholder will be entitled to receive for each Gresham House share held 1,105 pence in cash, representing a 62.5% premium to the stock’s last closing price.
The acquisition values the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Gresham House at approximately £469.8 million on a fully diluted basis and values Gresham House at approximately £440.6 million on an enterprise value basis.
Commenting on the Acquisition, Anthony Townsend, Chairman of Gresham House, said: “Since the management buy-in in 2014, Gresham House has been transformed into a leading specialist alternative asset manager. Today’s offer delivers shareholders a 4x return over this period. The Gresham House Board believes that it represents a compelling opportunity in the current challenging economic environment for shareholders to realise, with certainty, Gresham House’s potential for long-term future value creation.
“The acquisition by Searchlight starts a new and exciting chapter for Gresham House. We are confident that Searchlight will accelerate our international and domestic growth strategy and their long-term capital and global expertise will support and enhance our investment teams’ ability to deliver returns to clients”.
Commenting on the Acquisition, James Redmayne, Partner at Searchlight Capital Partners UK, LLP, said: “We are excited to invest in Gresham House and partner with Tony Dalwood and his highly talented management team. Their achievements in building Gresham House over the past eight years to its position as a leading Natural Capital and Sustainability focused asset manager have been hugely impressive”.
Giles Marshall, Partner at Searchlight Capital Partners UK, LLP, added: “We very much look forward to supporting the team in the coming years, both through capital to help drive their organic and inorganic growth plans, as well as providing access to Searchlight’s extensive international network”.
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