Nielsen Holdings plc

NYSE:NLSN Stock Report

Market Cap: US$10.1b

This company has been acquired

The company may no longer be operating, as it has been acquired. Find out why through their latest events.

Nielsen Holdings Future Growth

Future criteria checks 1/6

Key information

9.4%

Earnings growth rate

12.32%

EPS growth rate

Professional Services earnings growth15.1%
Revenue growth rate4.1%
Future return on equity18.48%
Analyst coverage

Good

Last updatedn/a

Recent future growth updates

Recent updates

Seeking Alpha • Oct 03

Nielsen ticks higher amid NYSE delisting notice for sale to Elliott, Brookfield

Nielsen Holdings (NYSE:NLSN) ticked up 0.4% amid a NYSE delisting notice that indicated NLSN shares would be suspended Oct. 12 due its planned sale to Elliott Management and Brookfield Business Partners. Nielsen (NLSN) last month received shareholder approval of a deal to be acquired by a private-equity consortium in a transaction valued at $16B including debt. The company cleared the way to rescheduled meetings to vote on the deal following an agreement with shareholder WindAcre whereby WindAcre would join the purchasing consortium. Editors note: Corrects to indicate its an NYSE delisting notice.
Seeking Alpha • Sep 01

Nielsen gets shareholder OK for private-equity buyout

Nielsen Holdings (NYSE:NLSN) has received shareholder approval of a deal to be acquired by a private-equity consortium in a transaction valued at $16B including debt. The company had previously set a court meeting and special meeting of shareholders for Thursday to consider the acquisition by partners including Evergreen Coast Capital, an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management, and Brookfield Business Partners and its institutional partners. Now through the two meetings, shareholders have signed off on the deal at $28 per share in cash. Nielsen stock is now at $27.82 per share. The deal is expected to close in October, pending closing conditions including court approval of its scheme of arrangement. The company cleared the way to rescheduled meetings to vote on the deal following an agreement with shareholder WindAcre whereby WindAcre would join the purchasing consortium.
Seeking Alpha • Aug 19

Nielsen sets new meetings on acquisition deal for Sept. 1

Nielsen Holdings (NYSE:NLSN) has scheduled reconvened shareholder meetings in an updated proxy solicitation, backing reports that a sale of the company to private equity is on track after an agreement with shareholder WindAcre. Nielsen last week had said two meetings tied to its acquisition were postponed, and that it reached an agreement whereby WindAcre would join the consortium buying the company. Now both meetings - a UK Court Meeting and a special meeting of Nielsen shareholders - are rescheduled for Sept. 1, at 8:15 a.m. ET and 8:30 a.m. ET respectively. At the Court Meeting, holders will be asked to vote on the acquisition arrangement. WindAcre has agreed to invest $500M in an indirect parent company of Nielsen in exchange for issued securities after the close of the acquisition. The outside date for the deal moves to Oct. 14. An amended ownership statement shows WindAcre with a 27.3% stake in Nielsen.
Seeking Alpha • Aug 09

Nielsen soars 21% after WindAcre reaches agreement with consortium

Nielsen Holdings (NYSE:NLSN) jumped 21% in premarket trading after holder Windacre reached an agreement with the consortium buying the tv/Internet ratings measurement company. Under the preliminary agreement, WindAcre would join the Consortium with respect to a portion of its shares and would receive $28 per share – the same price to be paid to all other shareholders – for its remaining shares, according to a statement. WindAcre came to an agreement with the Elliott Investment affiliate Evergreen Coast Capital and and Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU). Following the preliminary agreement with WindAcre, the court meeting and special shareholder meeting scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed. The agreement with WindAcre is a crucial one as closure of Nielsen takeover has faced resistance for months from Nielsen's largest holder WindAcre, which has said it plans to block the merger. Nielsen (NLSN) in late March agreed to a $16B sale of the TV/Internet measurement company to a private equity consortium.
Seeking Alpha • Jul 21

Nielsen A $4 Spread And A Switch

Nielsen is to be acquired by Elliot and Brookfield for $28 per share. The current gross spread is around $4 or 16%. The buyers can circumvent WindAcre attempts to block the deal by switching to an offer. Nielsen (NLSN) at the current price represents an opportunity where the odds are in our side. The annualized spread is over 50% if the deal closes by October 2022, and the odds of the deal to go through are much bigger than the market is pricing because is too worried about WindAcre statement that will block the deal. They can block the deal, but there are workarounds that the buyer consortium can use to force the purchase. Background Nielsen started a strategic review in the last quarter of 2018. A year later, in November 2019, with the strategic review complete and having received no offers for the whole business the company announced a spin-off of its Global Connect business. With Elliot help it end up selling the business to Advent International for $2.7 Billion in March 2021. In July 2022, Elliot started to express that would like to take Nielsen private at significant premium, and after a couple of negotiations the buyer consortium, which includes Elliot and Brookfield offered $30 per share, but then corrected it to $28 per share due to toughening financing conditions (yields have been rising). The 28$ per share represented a premium of 60% above NSLN unaffected price. Shareholders would have their day spoiled by WindAcre Partnership, which said that Nielsen was worth a lot more and that would seek to block the deal. The Players Normally acquisitions have two sides, the buyers, and the seller. In this case we have a third party, a greedy hedge fund, which is at the same time the party pooper and the opportunity creator. The buyers are a consortium of Elliot Associates and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), two big firms with big PE arms with Elliot being known for its activist positions. Nielsen is the target, but also THE television and internet ratings company. Nielsen revenues and EBITDA have been stable for the last couple of years at $3.5 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively. The stability in revenues and EBITDA makes Nielsen a good candidate for PE, although it seems a bit leveraged with long term debt of $5 billion. The third player is a $7 billion hedge fund, WindAcre Partnership, that opposes to the Nielsen acquisition because it says that the company is worth at least $40 per share. The Deal The deal is a financial one since the buyers is PE consortium. Nevertheless, financing is not a condition to the merger and the buyers have the money lined up with equity and debt commitment letters. The consortium valued the company at $16 billion which makes the take private at a multiple of EV/EBITDA of around 14.5x. It seems a fair price if we account for Nielsen financials results in the last few years. Regarding the termination fees things appear tight for the consortium that would have to pay $511 million to walked away from the deal while Nielsen would have to pay $102 million to accept another offer. The regulatory approvals in the US, EU have been given and the only ones missing is the UK and Australia which should not be a problem. The only big hurdle is the shareholder vote!! The Drama First of all, gross spreads of 16% and annualized returns of +50% are not normal and for that opportunity to present itself it must have some issues. In this case the issue is the stance of WindAcre Partnership which pretends to block the deal. Since the deal announcement WindAcre position on Nielsen has increased quickly from 9.6% to 27% in order to be able to block the deal, since the merger is an UK Scheme and needs an approval from 75% of the shareholders to pass. What does not make sense is why WindAcre is blocking the deal that all the other shareholders want to accept? In January 2022, when Elliot and Nielsen were negotiating an agreement WindAcre sent a letter to Nielsen asking it to maximize the intrinsic value for Nielsen shareholders and for them that was at least $40. Elliot at the time invited WindAcre to join the consortium but after a few talks the hedge fund replied: Following these discussions, WindAcre informed Nielsen and the Consortium that it had determined not to join the Consortium and that it would oppose the transaction as it views Nielsen's intrinsic value to be significantly higher than values proposed by the Consortium.
Seeking Alpha • Jul 14

Nielsen sale to Elliott/Brookfield approved by European antitrust regulator

Nielsen Holdings (NYSE:NLSN) planned sale to Elliott and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) was approved by the European Commission, according to a website posting. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given its limited impact on the market. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure, according to the agency. Nielsen (NLSN) in late March agreed to a $16B sale of the TV/Internet measurement company to a private equity consortium. The transaction has faced resistance for months from Nielsen's largest holder WindAcre, which has said it plans to block the merger.
Seeking Alpha • Jun 14

Golden Age Of Merger Arb: Nielsen

Time to put money to work. Merger arb spreads are wide. Here’s what you can buy now.
Seeking Alpha • Apr 11

Merger Arbitrage Mondays - WindAcre Doubles Its Stake In Nielsen Holdings

WindAcre opposes Nielsen Holdings' agreement to be taken private and doubles its stake in the company. Change Healthcare and UnitedHealth Group extend their merger agreement. Change Healthcare to pay a special cash dividend to its shareholders. Spirit Airlines receives an unsolicited proposal from JetBlue Airways.
Seeking Alpha • Apr 04

Merger Arbitrage Mondays: Nielsen Holdings To Be Taken Private

Nielsen Holdings to be acquired by a private equity consortium led by Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation, an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management. We added Nielsen Holdings as potential deal in the works on March 14, 2022. Nielsen has a 45-day "go-shop" period, during which it can actively solicit, evaluate and potentially enter into negotiations with parties that offer alternative acquisition proposals.
Seeking Alpha • Mar 27

Nielsen: Analyzing The Options

Nielsen has been lagging despite the divestment of the underperforming Global Connect business. A lagging share price and stable operating performance attracted investors, as I understand that rationale. Management is rebuffing the offer, leaving itself and shareholders exposed, in a tricky situation.
Seeking Alpha • Nov 29

Nielsen: Positioned For Continued Growth With Launch Of Nielsen One

Looking back, the Nielsen split made sense, and selling off an underperforming segment was the right move. In the nine months since, Nielsen has demonstrated its ability to be a more profitable business with growth prospects heading into 2022 with the expected launch of Nielsen One. Valuation supports a BUY rating heading given the higher EBITDA margins and exit multiple.

Earnings and Revenue Growth Forecasts

NYSE:NLSN - Analysts future estimates and past financials data (USD Millions)
DateRevenueEarningsFree Cash FlowCash from OpAvg. No. Analysts
12/31/20243,8995659391,2125
12/31/20233,7415128111,1007
12/31/20223,5914546769946
6/30/20223,535570647982N/A
3/31/20223,514546596930N/A
12/31/20213,500551325666N/A
9/30/20213,478317364776N/A
6/30/20213,432299474922N/A
3/31/20213,382241463959N/A
12/31/20203,361190480999N/A
9/30/20204,180736101,132N/A
6/30/20204,960-4986071,128N/A
3/31/20205,777-4035951,104N/A
12/31/20193,4415675471,066N/A
9/30/20196,465-1,2586511,142N/A
6/30/20196,449-6906121,116N/A
3/31/20196,468-7416181,132N/A
12/31/20186,515-7125381,058N/A
9/30/20186,6183214771,018N/A
6/30/20186,6593716401,169N/A
3/31/20186,6564306501,153N/A
12/31/20176,5724298211,310N/A
9/30/20176,4675079191,347N/A
6/30/20176,3964918471,265N/A
3/31/20176,3484738111,249N/A
12/31/20166,3095028631,296N/A
9/30/20166,2775947281,154N/A
6/30/20166,2386067221,152N/A
3/31/20166,201607N/A1,195N/A
12/31/20156,172570N/A1,209N/A

Analyst Future Growth Forecasts

Earnings vs Savings Rate: NLSN's forecast earnings growth (9.4% per year) is above the savings rate (2%).

Earnings vs Market: NLSN's earnings (9.4% per year) are forecast to grow slower than the US market (14.6% per year).

High Growth Earnings: NLSN's earnings are forecast to grow, but not significantly.

Revenue vs Market: NLSN's revenue (4.1% per year) is forecast to grow slower than the US market (7.5% per year).

High Growth Revenue: NLSN's revenue (4.1% per year) is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Earnings per Share Growth Forecasts

Future Return on Equity

Future ROE: NLSN's Return on Equity is forecast to be low in 3 years time (18.5%).

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Company Analysis and Financial Data Status

DataLast Updated (UTC time)
Company Analysis2022/10/11 11:21
End of Day Share Price 2022/10/11 00:00
Earnings2022/06/30
Annual Earnings2021/12/31

Data Sources

The data used in our company analysis is from S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC. The following data is used in our analysis model to generate this report. Data is normalised which can introduce a delay from the source being available.

PackageDataTimeframeExample US Source *
Company Financials10 years
  • Income statement
  • Cash flow statement
  • Balance sheet
Analyst Consensus Estimates+3 years
  • Forecast financials
  • Analyst price targets
Market Prices30 years
  • Stock prices
  • Dividends, Splits and Actions
Ownership10 years
  • Top shareholders
  • Insider trading
Management10 years
  • Leadership team
  • Board of directors
Key Developments10 years
  • Company announcements

* Example for US securities, for non-US equivalent regulatory forms and sources are used.

Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more.

Analysis Model and Snowflake

Details of the analysis model used to generate this report is available on our Github page, we also have guides on how to use our reports and tutorials on Youtube.

Learn about the world class team who designed and built the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Industry and Sector Metrics

Our industry and section metrics are calculated every 6 hours by Simply Wall St, details of our process are available on Github.

Analyst Sources

Nielsen Holdings plc is covered by 28 analysts. 7 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report. Analysts submissions are updated throughout the day.

AnalystInstitution
Richard KramerArete Research Services LLP
Jeffrey MeulerBaird
Manav PatnaikBarclays