Hargreaves Lansdown enters crunch week for £5.4bn takeover bid
Hargreaves Lansdown will need to convince shareholders why it is recommending a £5.4bn bid to take the investment platform private if a formal offer is made this week.
The deadline for a deal to be announced between Hargreaves Lansdown and its bidders – which comprise private equity giant CVC, Copenhagen’s Nordic Capital and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority-owned Platinum Ivy – is Monday, unless another extension is granted by the Takeover Panel.
The Bristol-based firm has previously said it is minded to recommend the offer that values Hargreaves Lansdown at £5.4bn, or £11.40 a share, having rejected several lower offers from the consortium.
The final bid’s unusual structure, which gives shareholders the opportunity to keep their stake in the FTSE 100 constituent even in its private incarnation, has raised eyebrows among shareholders.
Some believe it was landed on in order to appease the firm’s two founders, Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown, who own 20 per cent and six per cent respectively.
With the firm set to report its full-year results on Friday, one top 20 shareholder told The Sunday Times: “The board will have to try to persuade people of their view.”
Another said the situation was “finely balanced” with investors ultimately likely to support the deal.
In June, the Hargreaves Lansdown won back its place back in the FTSE 100 while negotiations to go private were afoot.
Since Peter Hargreaves has come out in favour of the take private offer, saying in an interview with Morning Wire that “if the business could survive [it’s former boss Chris] Hill, it could survive private equity”.