DMGT to return £900m to shareholders from Euromoney stake
Investors to be offered shares in financial publisher at a discount
The parent company behind the Daily Mail newspaper has announced plans to return almost £900m to shareholders by offloading shares in financial publisher Euromoney, in a move that will boost ownership over the company by chairman Lord Rothermere.
Under the plan revealed on Sunday, Daily Mail and General Trust will hand over its entire holding in Euromoney to some shareholders at a discount, in addition to returning £200m of cash as part of a plan to simplify its business.
Chairman Lord Rothermere, who owns shares in Euromoney through two investment vehicles, will not participate in the scheme. Because some shareholders will exchange their DMGT shares for Euromoney shares, the transaction means his family’s stake in DMGT will increase from 24 per cent to 36 per cent.
Paul Zwillenberg, chief executive of DMGT, said: “The proposed distributions that we have announced today are fully aligned with our strategic priorities of increasing the focus of our portfolio and maintaining financial flexibility, whilst at the same time improving the efficiency of our balance sheet.
“In total, the distributions will result in almost £900m of assets being returned to shareholders, who will benefit from direct ownership of Euromoney while retaining exposure to a simplified DMGT group.”
The deal is the latest step by DMGT to simplify its business after selling EDR, a commercial real estate service, and its stake in ZPG, the company behind property website Zoopla. It comes as media companies grapple with falling advertising revenues as tech companies hoover up advertising dollars and Brexit hits companies’ budgets.
The parent company behind the Daily Mail newspaper has announced plans to return almost £900m to shareholders by offloading shares in financial publisher Euromoney, in a move that will boost ownership over the company by chairman Lord Rothermere.
Under the plan revealed on Sunday, Daily Mail and General Trust will hand over its entire holding in Euromoney to some shareholders at a discount, in addition to returning £200m of cash as part of a plan to simplify its business.
Chairman Lord Rothermere, who owns shares in Euromoney through two investment vehicles, will not participate in the scheme. Because some shareholders will exchange their DMGT shares for Euromoney shares, the transaction means his family’s stake in DMGT will increase from 24 per cent to 36 per cent.
Paul Zwillenberg, chief executive of DMGT, said: “The proposed distributions that we have announced today are fully aligned with our strategic priorities of increasing the focus of our portfolio and maintaining financial flexibility, whilst at the same time improving the efficiency of our balance sheet.
“In total, the distributions will result in almost £900m of assets being returned to shareholders, who will benefit from direct ownership of Euromoney while retaining exposure to a simplified DMGT group.”
The deal is the latest step by DMGT to simplify its business after selling EDR, a commercial real estate service, and its stake in ZPG, the company behind property website Zoopla. It comes as media companies grapple with falling advertising revenues as tech companies hoover up advertising dollars and Brexit hits companies’ budgets.