Investcorp Exits 9th European Stake, Steinhoff Offers to Buy Mattress Firm

Sarla Buch
08 Aug, 2016
New York City

Investcorp agreed to sell Crisps Topco for

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – Investcorp agreed to sell Crisps Topco for £300 million to Amplify Snack Brands. Elliott Capital increases Meggitt stake to 5.2%. PostNL profit surged. Steinhoff bid $3.8 billion for Mattress Firm.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index rose 11.28 or 0.2% to 6,804.94 and in Frankfurt the DAX index gained 55.73 or 0.5% to 10,422.95.

In Paris, CAC 40 index edged up 1.45 to 4,412.

Investcorp, the Bahrain-based private equity group agreed to sell its Crisps Topco Limited to the U.S.-based, maker of SkinnyPop popcorn, Amplify Snack Brands, Inc for about £300 million.

The investment group has exited from nine companies’ investment in Europe in the last twelve months.

Interserve Plc jumped 4.5% to 314.75 pence after the U.K.-based construction services provider was awarded a two-year extension contract to provide security services to the British Broadcasting Corporation worth £20 million.

Interserve said this was a three-year deal to provide security services at properties across the U.K.

On August 1, the construction group secured a five-year contract from the new Crown Commercial Services’ facilities management framework, to provide total facilities management services for the Home Office.

Meggitt Plc surged 8.6% to 450.20 pence after the activist investor Elliott Capital Advisors increased its stake in the U.K. based engineering company to 5.2% according to the latest regulatory filing.

Elliott Capital has a history of agitating and changing management after acquiring stake in struggling companies that often leads to company sale or significant breakup of operations.

Meggitt reported pre-tax profit in the first-half ending in June declined 60% to £46.6 million as revenue slipped 2% to £882.9 million.

PostNL NV soared 7.9% to €3.72 after the Netherlands-based mail and parcel services provider said revenues in the first-quarter ending in June rose 1% from a year ago to €1.69 billion.

Net profit in the period surged from a year ago to €205 million compared to the €30 million and diluted earnings per share increased to €46.2 from €6.8.

PostNL forecasted underlying operating profit in fiscal 2017 between €220 million and €260 million and in fiscal 2017 in the range of €230 million to €270 million.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV gained 1.6% to €5.89 after the Netherlands-based household goods and apparel retailer made cash tender offer to the U.S.-based mattress retailer Mattress Firm Holding Corp for $64 per share in cash or $3.8 billion.

The transaction is expected to close in the third-quarter of this year.