The bid will be one of several being submitted for the company, which owner SMG has put up for sale ahead of its much-anticipated merger with UTV.
Primesight is considered one of SMG’s best assets, with competitors such as JCDecaux, CBS Outdoor and Titan all thought to be interested.
Analysts said a leveraged buyout — a management takeover financed by debt — had pros and cons.
Malcolm Morgan, media analyst at Investec, said: “The disadvantage of a management or leveraged buyout over a trade buyer is that the size of the organisation stays the same, so you won’t get the cost savings that, say, a Titan or a Clear Channel could bring to it.
“But, on the plus side, an existing management team will quite often have a better understanding of the company, not to mention a responsibility for the estate and all the nitty gritty things such as relationships with clients and the leases they have in place.”
The merger between UTV and SMG was expected to be signed in January, but delays are thought to have occurred at the SMG end, as bosses fight for as much of the joint firm as possible.
One analyst questioned whether UTV would take on SMG while Primesight is still “muddying the waters”.
SMG would not comment on the plan for a management buyout, saying only that the sale process was ongoing.
Primesight is considered one of SMG’s best assets, with competitors such as JCDecaux, CBS Outdoor and Titan all thought to be interested.
Analysts said a leveraged buyout — a management takeover financed by debt — had pros and cons.
Malcolm Morgan, media analyst at Investec, said: “The disadvantage of a management or leveraged buyout over a trade buyer is that the size of the organisation stays the same, so you won’t get the cost savings that, say, a Titan or a Clear Channel could bring to it.
“But, on the plus side, an existing management team will quite often have a better understanding of the company, not to mention a responsibility for the estate and all the nitty gritty things such as relationships with clients and the leases they have in place.”
The merger between UTV and SMG was expected to be signed in January, but delays are thought to have occurred at the SMG end, as bosses fight for as much of the joint firm as possible.
One analyst questioned whether UTV would take on SMG while Primesight is still “muddying the waters”.
SMG would not comment on the plan for a management buyout, saying only that the sale process was ongoing.
.jpg)
.jpg)