Adevinta Shareholders Criticized for SupportingTakeover Bid

Two Adevinta shareholders have criticised other shareholders—specifically Schibsted and eBay—for their apparent willingness to accept a takeover bid by a consortium.

The Swedish newspaper Dagens Industry has reported that two investment funds with holdings in Adevinta—Didner & Gerge and Tin Fonder—have independently expressed doubts after Adevinta released a statement stating how both eBay and Norway-based Schibsted have "expressed their support" for a proposed takeover bid by a consortium led by investment giants Permira and Blackstone.

Per Johansson, a portfolio manager at equity fund Didner & Gerge—the 20th largest shareholder in Adevinta—said: "It is very puzzling that Schibsted is considering selling at these levels to a private player and delisting Adevinta before delivering on the strategic plan."

Meanwhile, Carl Armfelt, a portfolio manager at Tin Fonder, said "Adevinta will be underpriced if large owners roll over their ownership into a new structure."

The Permira and Blackstone consortium has received assurances that investment banks in the US are willing to fund a deal in the form of debt to finance a private takeover of Adevinta.

Permira is already the third-largest shareholder in Adevinta, with $2.2Bn worth of shares purchased from eBay in November 2021—a 12.1% stake.

Adevinta confirmed last week that it is in talks for a "non-binding" proposed takeover, but nothing official has been signed and the suggested numbers are only rumours for now.

The takeover bid would see a consortium led by Permira and Blackstone buy out all publicly available shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

It makes sense that minor shareholders like Didner & Gerge and Tin Fonder are disgruntled with Schibsted and eBay's openness to a deal—a willing seller means a cheaper price, with a knock-on effect for the investments made by those with less pulling power when the big boys do eventually come to the table.

Adevinta is an attractive proposition right now. The firm recently divested itself of unwanted assets in Hungary—the last of more than a dozen high-profile sales since a strategic pivot to focus on key European markets including France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Belgium/Luxembourg.

Meanwhile, The multinational marketplace owner will presumably have less cash in the bank than it would like since the multi-billion acquisition of eBay's classifieds business in mid-2020—a deal that Bloomberg has reported was pursued by none other than Permira and Blackstone at the time.

Share prices in Adevinta have stalled ever since the eBay deal went through, but they did jump by 24% last week when the news of the takeover bid emerged.