(This story has been refiled to correct the name Permira throughout the story)
By Amy-Jo Crowley and Milana Vinn
LONDON (Reuters) – Advent International had been exploring a possible bid for British fund administrator JTC, according to two people familiar with the matter, potentially adding to a bidding war for the business.
Advent in recent days has put a hold on its work after shares in the London-listed business jumped, according to one of the people speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is private. JTC had a market capitalisation of about 2.3 billion pounds ($3.11 billion) as of Wednesday’s close.
The private equity group would have been bidding against rivals Warburg Pincus and Permira, which both submitted proposals for Jersey-headquartered JTC in recent weeks.
Reuters could not establish whether Advent would resume its work on a bid. Spokespeople for Advent and JTC declined to comment. Shares in JTC rose as much as 3.8% on Thursday following Reuters reporting Advent’s recent interest. The shares were last up more than 2% at 1.354 pounds.
JTC is the latest UK-listed company to draw a bid battle from private equity funds. British companies have proven a fertile ground for bids as they typically trade at a discount to peers in the U.S. and Europe.
Shares in JTC, which provides fund administration, corporate, and private client services globally, have jumped around 15% in the last five days, according to LSEG data. The company said last Friday that it was in separate talks with Warburg Pincus and Permira, having rejected earlier buyout proposals from both private equity firms.
Permira must announce a firm offer for JTC by September 26 or walk away under UK takeover rules, while Warburg Pincus has until an October 10 deadline, JTC said.
JTC said on Monday its full-year expectations were unchanged and that it is on track to meet its goal of doubling revenue and profits by the end of 2027, ahead of schedule. Revenue increased by 17.3% to 172.6 million pounds for the half year that ended in June, while underlying earnings before interest tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped 15% to 56.5 million pounds.
($1 = 0.7384 pounds)
(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley and Milana Vinn. Editing by Anousha Sakoui, Elisa Martinuzzi and Susan Fenton)
