Springer Nature revives IPO plans, new bank consortium: sources

Springer Nature, the publisher of science magazines Nature and Scientific American, is reviving plans for a stock market listing, two years after a first attempt fell through, people close to the matter said. Its owners, buyout group BC Partners and publisher Holtzbrinck, are working with a new bank consortium led by Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) on the deal, which may value the company at 7-8 billion euros ($7.8-8.9 billion), including debt, they added. BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) and Citi (C.N) are among those helping as so-called bookrunners with the initial public offering, which could take place as early as May or June, they added. BC Partners, Holtzbrinck and the banks declined to comment or were not immediately available for comment. Springer Nature had cancelled a planned stock market listing in 2018, citing weak demand. At the time, investors had baulked at the high price expectations of the sellers and the high debt of Springer Nature. “Leverage has come down significantly, making it a much easier sell now,” one of the people said. Springer Nature was formed in 2015 through the merger of Holtzbrinck’s Macmillan Science and Education unit with BC Partners’ Springer business, which publishes scientific, technical and medical books and journals. The tie-up was designed to make it easier to compete with the likes of RELX (REL.L) and Informa (INF.L) as publishers increasingly shift to digital content and readers use smartphones and...
Source: News from STM - Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Tags: Featured Source Type: news