Euromoney’s £1.7bn takeover deal

EUROMONEY Institutional Investor looks set to be split up after accepting a £1.7bn takeover bid from two private equity firms.

The FTSE 250 media and events group – set up in 1969 by then Daily Mail City Editor Sir Patrick Sergeant – will ask shareholders to approve a 1461p per share offer from Astorg Asset Management and Epiris.

The business will be split up within a year of the deal and Euromoney chief executive Andrew Rashbass warned it will lead to a swathe of job cuts. In a letter to staff, seen by the Financial Times, he conceded the change was ‘unsettling’ and that ‘some central roles will no longer be required’.

The deal will see its Fastmarkets division, which reports on the price of raw materials such as wood and metals, taken on by Astorg. Epiris will take over the rest of the business, which publishes the Euromoney financial magazine as well as Institutional Investor, Fast Markets and Metal Bulletin.

Euromoney shares jumped 9.5pc, or 126p, to 1454p yesterday.