Nielsen Holdings B.V., which owns the Outdoor Retailer and Interbike trade shows, plans to sell a 20% stake to the public in an IPO that would raise approximately $1.42 billion to pay down high-interest-rate loans used by private equity investors to buy the company in 2006, according to documents filed last week with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.
Nielsen Holdings plans to sell 71.5 million shares at $20 to $22 a share to raise $1.57 billion. The company has applied to list the shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol 'NLSN.' The company said it also plans to offer $250 million in mandatory convertible subordinated bonds due in 2013. The IPO would leave 78% of the company in the hands of investment funds.
The bulk of the proceeds from both transactions will be used to redeem 11.5% and 12.5% notes a consortium of private equity firms used to finance the May 2006 acquisition of Nielsen. As of Sept. 30, 2010, Nielsen Holdings had accumulated a net deficit of $8.8 billion and generated net losses totaling $1.43 billion in the three years ended Dec. 31 2019.
Since the acquisition, Nielsen has increased net revenues to $4.8 billion, generating a 5.7% compound annual growth rate on a constant-currency basis.
Adjusted EBITDA has grown at a CAGR of 13.9% to $1.3 billion, or 27.3% of revenue.
Nielsen Expositions, which produced approximately 40 shows in 20 countries in 2009, is the smallest by far of Nielsen’s three business segments and is shrinking. Revenues from the business were $150 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2010, down 5.5% from the same period a year earlier. Operating income for the business reached $55 million, compared to a year earlier loss of $91 million, which was attributed primarily to one-time restructuring charges.
Since 2006, Nielsen Holdings has focused on divesting its publishing and trade show businesses and building what it calls its “Watch” and “Buy” segments, which measure and analyze media audience and consumer spending respectively. In 2009, those two segments generated 96% of revenues.
While the company retains one of the largest trade show portfolios in the United States, it shut down the Fly Fishing Retailer and Action Sports Retailer shows in 2009 and 2010, respectfully, and divested its 50% share in VNU Exhibitions Europe in 2007. Nielsen has divested most of its U.S. publications, including SGB, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard magazine.
