Adevinta ASA
Adevinta Suitors Permira, Blackstone Consider Preferred Equity From Vendors to Bridge Valuation Gap; Blackstone Pushes for Credit Arm Role in Senior Debt
Wed 10/18/2023 12:26 PM
Relevant Documents:
Q2 2023 Report
Adevinta Press Release
Schibsted Press Release
Adevinta suitors Permira and Blackstone are considering taking preferred equity from shareholders Ebay and Schibsted to support the delisting of the Norwegian classifieds business, sources told Reorg. Among direct lenders assembled to provide unitranche financing to back the deal, Blackstone Credit is likely to be given one of the leading financing roles given its connection to the private equity arm.
The bidders are looking for additional capital from the vendors to help bridge the valuation gap, sources added. Ebay and Schibsted have both made statements pledging to sell their shares to the consortium, as reported.
The financing structure is still fluid but the vendors could provide around 1.5x leverage or €1 billion, one source added. Adevinta is expecting to generate up to €650 million EBITDA in 2023, according to its second-quarter report.
Blackstone is keen to have its own private credit arm involved in the transaction, sources said. This is a practice that has become more common in recent years as private credit arms finance larger buyouts and move into the same market as their PE colleagues, one source said. Blackstone Credit previously financed a buyout by its PE arm in March 2021 when it took a large minority portion of the unitranche for Belgian environmental service company Desotec alongside Macquarie, as reported.
The bidders are putting together a roughly €4.5 billion unitranche to support the proposed take private of the business, sources said. The sponsors have gone wide in the market, lining up financing from a number of direct lenders that are able to provide financing from €400 million and upwards, sources added.
A bank financing option is still on the table, one of the sources noted. However, given the long timeline of the take private offer, which can take months, and the time constraints under which banks can commit financing the buyout is likely to go down the direct lending route, the sources stated.
The appetite for Adevinta is unsurprising given the quality of the sponsors involved and the existence of good precedent deals and listed comparables, one source added. Additionally there is a large equity cushion and it’s in a sector a lot of people like, helping lenders get comfortable, the same source added.
A summary of Adevinta’s key financials is below:
Permira declined to comment. Adevinta, Blackstone, Ebay and Schibsted did not return requests for comment.
Disclosure: Reorg and Adevinta are both Permira portfolio companies.
– Maryna Irkliyenko, Oscar Laurikka
Q2 2023 Report
Adevinta Press Release
Schibsted Press Release
Adevinta suitors Permira and Blackstone are considering taking preferred equity from shareholders Ebay and Schibsted to support the delisting of the Norwegian classifieds business, sources told Reorg. Among direct lenders assembled to provide unitranche financing to back the deal, Blackstone Credit is likely to be given one of the leading financing roles given its connection to the private equity arm.
The bidders are looking for additional capital from the vendors to help bridge the valuation gap, sources added. Ebay and Schibsted have both made statements pledging to sell their shares to the consortium, as reported.
The financing structure is still fluid but the vendors could provide around 1.5x leverage or €1 billion, one source added. Adevinta is expecting to generate up to €650 million EBITDA in 2023, according to its second-quarter report.
Blackstone is keen to have its own private credit arm involved in the transaction, sources said. This is a practice that has become more common in recent years as private credit arms finance larger buyouts and move into the same market as their PE colleagues, one source said. Blackstone Credit previously financed a buyout by its PE arm in March 2021 when it took a large minority portion of the unitranche for Belgian environmental service company Desotec alongside Macquarie, as reported.
The bidders are putting together a roughly €4.5 billion unitranche to support the proposed take private of the business, sources said. The sponsors have gone wide in the market, lining up financing from a number of direct lenders that are able to provide financing from €400 million and upwards, sources added.
A bank financing option is still on the table, one of the sources noted. However, given the long timeline of the take private offer, which can take months, and the time constraints under which banks can commit financing the buyout is likely to go down the direct lending route, the sources stated.
The appetite for Adevinta is unsurprising given the quality of the sponsors involved and the existence of good precedent deals and listed comparables, one source added. Additionally there is a large equity cushion and it’s in a sector a lot of people like, helping lenders get comfortable, the same source added.
A summary of Adevinta’s key financials is below:
Permira declined to comment. Adevinta, Blackstone, Ebay and Schibsted did not return requests for comment.
Disclosure: Reorg and Adevinta are both Permira portfolio companies.
– Maryna Irkliyenko, Oscar Laurikka
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