News that D&B are exploring a possible sale saw shares rise by 10% after the announcement was first published in the Wall Street Journal earlier today. The WSJ reported that the company was working with J P Morgan Chase & Credit Suisse to identify potential buyers.
D&B has disappointed the market recently with their first quarter performance below market expectations due to weakness in the US market. This coming hard on the heels of the closure of Roadway their consumer marketing business in China following allegations of violation of consumer privacy laws and delays to MAXIQ their strategic technology investment has seen their shares underperform both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indices over the last 6 months.
D&B reported revenues of $1.8bn in 2011 and Profit before Tax of $481m. With a current market capitalisation of $3.84bn and the recent acquisition of Transunion by Goldman Sachs at three times revenues it would be expected that any buyer would have to pay somewhere in the region of $4-6bn.
Source: Phil Cotter, Contributing Editor
