Two global venture capital giants and other investment firms have expressed their interest in launching a takeover bid for the Spanish technical inspection and industrial testing company Applus, whose stock market value exceeds 1,000 million euros.
According to Reuters, Applus is holding consultations with JPMorgan to assess the operation, for which the American firm Apollo and the British Apax Partners, dedicated to venture capital, have been interested separately. The first has assets under management for an amount greater than 250,000 million dollars, while the second manages more than 50,000 million.
Applus sources do not comment on this information. There is also a consortium made up of the firms I Squared and TDR that have also taken an interest in the Spanish company, specialized in businesses such as ITV and with annual revenues of more than 2,000 million euros.
The eventual takeover bid has in its favor the high fragmentation of the company’s capital and the closing of other similar operations in the vehicle technical inspections business, such as Itevelesa, also acquired by a venture capital fund.
The US bank Morgan Stanley, with 5.3%, is the main shareholder of Applus, ahead of Southeastern Asset Management, which has 5.1%, or DWS, which declares 3.8%. Santander, with 3%, is the leading Spanish shareholder, according to the records of the CNMV.
The company’s shares have risen 13.8% today on the stock market in the heat of information about its possible sale. Its capitalization is now at 1,173 million euros. For more than a year there has been speculation about the possibility of finding a buyer for the company and taking it off the stock market, since it is trading at a strong discount.
Applus has been listed on the stock market for almost ten years, after the Carlyle investment fund decided to sell it through an IPO. One of its most important contracts, with income of more than 200 million euros, is in Catalonia through Idiada.
If this operation is launched, it would be the largest so far this year in Spain. The trading market has been paralyzed for months due to uncertainty and the rise in credit, after several years of strong activity.
