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Berenberg upgrades Ascential to 'buy' following Informa bid

(Sharecast News) - Analysts at Berenberg upgraded business-to-business media firm Ascential to 'buy' from 'hold' and hiked their target price on the stock to 568.0p from 395.0p following a takeover offer from Informa. Berenberg stated Informa had made a firm offer for Ascential at 568.0p per share, in line with the possible offer price disclosed on 23 July, and representing a 53% premium to the closing price on 22 July and valuing the company on a CY24 and CY25 enterprise value/underlying earnings ratio of 15.7x and 13.8x, respectively, pre-synergies.

"The CY25 EV/EBITDA of 13.8x, pre synergies is higher than historical take-out multiples in the sector - Informa bought Tarsus for 12.5x EV/EBITDA in May 2023. It also bought UBM for 14.3x in January 2018. Hyve was also bought by Providence February 2023 at >11x EV/EBITDA. When we take into account the potential synergies and better-than-expected trading, we estimate the implied CY25 EV/EBITDA valuation to be c11.5," said Berenberg.

The German bank added that Informa noted in its H1 results that its larger events were growing at above-average rates, benefiting from scale economics, and that Ascential expects H124 revenue to be roughly £158.0m, as organic growth came to 15% year-on-year.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

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