Blackstone, Permira Near €14 Billion Deal for eBay-Backed Adevinta

Swetha Gopinath, Dinesh Nair and Silas Brown, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- A private equity consortium offered to buy Adevinta ASA in a deal valuing the European online classifieds company at about €14 billion ($15 billion) including debt in one of the year’s biggest buyouts.

The investor group led by Permira and Blackstone Inc. is offering 115 kroner per share for Adevinta, according to a statement Tuesday, which confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report. That represents about a 34% premium to Adevinta’s closing price on Sept. 21, the last trading day before Bloomberg News revealed their interest. The consortium said the proposal is its best and final offer.

Adevinta’s board said it thinks the company’s long-term value is higher than the bid, but shareholders should decide themselves on its merits. As the cash proposal is “within the range of what is fair,” it may be attractive for some investors wanting to monetize their holdings in the short term, according to a statement.

EBay Inc., which is one of Adevinta’s biggest shareholders, agreed to sell half its stake in the company for about $2.2 billion in cash and plans to exchange its remaining stock for a 20% holding in the newly privatized company. Shares of eBay gained as much as 2.5% in New York trading Tuesday.

Another major investor, Norwegian media group Schibsted ASA, is also selling part of its stake and rolling over the rest.

Investment firms General Atlantic and TCV are also part of the consortium. Shareholders can choose to receive compensation in the form of cash, equity or a combination, according to the statement.

Shares of Adevinta have gained about 62% in Oslo trading this year. Adevinta confirmed Sept. 21 it had received a non-binding takeover proposal from a consortium led by Permira and Blackstone after Bloomberg News first reported the potential offer.

Read more: Private Lenders Provide Record €4.5 Billion Loan to Adevinta LBO

The deal is expected be completed in the second quarter of 2024 following receipt of regulatory approvals, according to Tuesday’s statement. ABG Sundal Collier ASA and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are advising the buyout consortium.

--With assistance from Michelle F. Davis, Vinicy Chan, Lisa Lee and Eyk Henning.

(Updates with board statement in third paragraph.)