Philips Lighting suitor Go Scale hires Credit Suisse, Apollo bids with ADIA
Remaining suitors for the second round of Philips’ [AMS:PHA] Lighting business auction are progressing on bid preparation ahead of an 18 April deadline, several sources familiar with the process told this news service.
Chinese Go Scale has mandated Credit Suisse; the Blackstone and Onex consortium is advised by UBS and Deutsche Bank, and Apollo Global Management is bidding jointly with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the sources said.
Meanwhile, Philips continues preparing for an IPO of Lighting, with bookrunner analysts having met management on 31 March to gather further detail on numbers, as reported by this news service. Philips will then have three to four weeks to decide whether to sell or go ahead with the filing of an intention to float, one of the sources said.
Philips had been favouring a sale from the beginning of the process when it had KKR, CVC, Bain, Onex, Melrose [LON:MRO], Blackstone and Go Scale all in the running, the second source said. Philips took a closer look at the IPO route as some of these fell away, he added.
However, a full sale is still considered to be a preferred option versus a partial sale via a staged IPO exit, as Philips is looking to use the proceeds to fund acquisitions, the source said. Additionally, Europe’s equity capital markets are weak at present, he added.
Just 24 European IPOs priced in 1Q16 versus 58 in 1Q15, according to Mergermarket data. Deal volumes have been hit by market volatility and concerns around a potential UK exit from the EU.
Philips Lighting could be worth around EUR 4.5bn, this news service previously reported. Philips is reviewing all strategic options for its Lighting unit and has no preferred exit option, a spokesperson said.
Onex did not respond to a request for comment. All other companies declined to comment.