15th Dec 2015 07:28
LONDON (Alliance News) - Events and media company UBM PLC on Tuesday said it has struck a deal to sell its PR Newswire business to private equity-owned PR software company Cision for USD810.0 million in cash and USD31.0 million in preferred equity.
Following completion of the deal, which is in line with UBM's decision to focus on its events business, the FTSE 250 company intends to return GBP245.0 million to investors through a special dividend, with the remainder to be held to provide financial firepower for bolt-on acquisitions.
The deal will be subject to competition clearance in the US, PR Newswires largest market, and is expected to be completed in the late part of the first quarter of 2016.
UBM said the deal will be partially dilutive to its earnings per share in the short-term, though this will be largely mitigated by a proposed share consolidation, which will accompany the special dividend.
"Today's announcement represents a significant step in the execution of UBM's "Events First" strategy, the objective of which is to become the world's leading focused B2B Events business. The board is confident that this transaction realises excellent value for our shareholders," said UBM Chief Executive Tim Cobbold.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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