Providence Equity Partners Acquires Hyve Group in a $389 Million Deal
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Providence said it would support Hyve by providing expansion capital and acquisitions to help it realise its "full growth potential".
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17th Mar, 2023
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© Hyve Group
Events organiser Hyve Group has become the latest UK company to be sold to a private equity firm, driving its shares sharply higher.
In a joint statement, US firm Providence Equity Partners said it had closed a buyout deal paying 108p in cash for each Hyve share - valuing the international conference organiser at £481m.
Hyve had already rejected two offers worth 101p and 105p per Providence share.
"The board believes the offer represents value for shareholders and that Providence, with its industry knowledge and belief in the business and management team, will be a good partner for Hyve," said Richard Last, Hyve chairman.
Shares in the company, which currently organises 33 face-to-face events in 11 countries and employs more than 600 people in 10 offices, jumped more than 12% in early trading to 111.8p.
Hyve shares were worth 610 pence in January 2020, before Covid-19 roadblocks and travel restrictions caused sales to plummet.
The company stopped holding some events virtually in this period, such as the Pure London fashion show.
The company suffered another blow a year ago when it decided to pull out of Russia, where it employed 206 people, following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. It also sold off its Ukrainian and Turkish businesses. Hyve had revenues of £122.5m last year, up from £21.8m in 2021, and a pre-tax profit of £11.5m, with several events exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
Providence said it would support Hyve by providing expansion capital and acquisitions to help it realise its "full growth potential".
Hyve's directors and one major shareholder, Strategic Value Partners, which owns 16.4% of Hyve, have pledged to vote in favour of the acquisition, representing almost 17% of the shares. If approved by shareholders, the deal would be completed in May.
Hyve was co-founded by Mark Shashoua in 1991 under the name ITE Group. He returned as CEO in 2017 to transform the business from a broad portfolio to a focus on market-leading events.
Providence Equity, founded by Jonathan Nelson in 1989 and based in Providence, Rhode Island, has invested more than $32bn (£26.5bn) in more than 170 companies. Nelson now serves as executive chairman.
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