Nielsen Share Price Soars After $15bn Takeover Report

Nielsen's shares soared by around 30% to $22.85 yesterday, after it was reported in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that the firm is in talks to be acquired by a group of investors in a $15bn deal.

The consortium includes hedge fund Elliott Management, which bought a stake in Nielsen in 2018, and pushed for a sale of the company. Nielsen then began a strategic review, which resulted in the group being split into two independent publicly traded companies: Nielsen Global Media and Nielsen Global Connect (now known as NielsenIQ). The WSJ said the valuation includes debt.

Nielsen has responded with a statement noting that company policy is not to comment on 'market rumors or speculation'.

Earlier this month, the head of TV advertising trade group the VAB wrote to Nielsen CEO David Kenny 'seeking the immediate cessation' of the firm's new 'Big Data' monthly impact releases, saying his organisation has identified 'three failures' with the data. The VAB previously wrote to Kenny about under-counting and lack of maintenance of panel homes during the pandemic.

Web site: www.nielsen.com .