- British online firm receives 'highly preliminary' approach
- THG's shares have lost more than 90% of their value in two years
- Shares jump 40% after approach
April 17 (Reuters) - Shares in online retail platform THG surged more than 40% after it said it had received a "highly preliminary" buyout proposal from Apollo Global Management, without disclosing terms of the plan.
Apollo must announce a firm intention to make an offer by May 15 or walk away, the British company said.
THG, which owns beauty and nutrition e-commerce sites, as well as an online platform serving third-party brands, was valued at more than 10 billion pounds ($12.4 billion) in early 2021, but its shares lost more than 90% of their value after it issued a string of profit warnings in the last 12 months.
The company has encountered problems including missing its forecasts for revenue growth, higher commodity prices for its protein shakes, and disruption to courier services, which hit online deliveries in December.
Its market value before it confirmed the approach on Monday was around 925 million pounds.
The approach is the latest sign of private equity interest in London-listed companies.
Oil services company John Wood Group said on Monday it is engaging with Apollo over a possible 1.66 billion-pound offer, while CVC Capital and Francisco Partners have tabled a 2.1 billion-pound takeover bid for payments provider Network International.
Last week, EQT entered talks with veterinary pharma group Dechra over a 4.63 billion-pound deal.
THG, formerly known as The Hut Group, is set to publish full-year results on Tuesday.
Apollo did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
($1 = 0.8063 pounds)
Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber
Source: Reuters