Adevinta "Breakup" On The Cards, New Board Also Appointed

Adevinta should be split up into different pieces if it is to succeed under new ownership, according to Apax Partners' Steve Kooyers and marketplace expert Malcolm Myers.

The two took to the stage at the AIM Group's AutosBuzz conference this week, with Adevinta set to be acquired by the Permira and Blackstone consortium imminently.

Kooyers, a partner at the private equity firm Apax Partners, said breaking up Adevinta "is the only viable strategy", with the new owners most likely "not thinking of it as a single company."

Meanwhile, Malcolm Myers, the founder at European Internet Ventures, suggested "the sum of [Adevinta's] parts will be worth more than the whole," with a breakup "the most likely outcome".

Adevinta is a highly diversified marketplace operator which underwent a significant divestment of non-essential assets in the leadup to the takeover bid by Permira and Blackstone. However, a number of European businesses including marketplaces in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and more remained as the company sought to focus on priority markets.

Adevinta grew revenues by 12% in its Q4 2023 results, published February, and now it appears that rumours are swirling that another divide-and-conquer approach is required if its new owners are to squeeze maximum value out of its $13 billion acquisition.

Meanwhile, Adevinta has appointed a new-look and much smaller board set to become active once the acquisition is completed.

All three members of the new board of directors: Dipan Patel (Chair), Maria Roentsh and Romain Jay, all work for either Permira or Blackstone, and the minutes of an Extraordinary General Meeting this week also laid out plans for the new board to consist of at least five and a maximum of thirteen members. In other words, the board is likely to grow in size in the immediate months following the acquisition.