M&G Investments, the £367 billion (€427 billion) asset manager, has blasted plans to sell London-listed UDG Healthcare to buyout firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, the latest in a series of criticisms of private equity deals by big fund managers. The criticism by M&G and AllianzGI comes at a time of growing concern in the UK that listed companies are being sold off too cheaply to private equity firms. Private equity groups, many of which have raised their largest-ever funds, are targeting the British stock market with the aim of capitalising on lower valuations in the wake of Brexit and the pandemic. Thirteen private equity buyouts of British-listed companies have been announced since the beginning of 2021, the highest year-to-date figure since 2006, according to figures from Refinitiv. “The material mismatch between the offer price and our opinion of UDG’s true value represents upside transferred away from ordinary shareholders towards the private equity bidder.”UDG declined to comment.

Source: The Irish Times May 30, 2021 14:03 UTC