Nielsen Jumps Over 30% on $15B Sale Talks — Report

A consortium including New York-based investment management firm Elliott Management is in late-stage talks to acquire Nielsen Holdings PLC (NYSE: NLSN) for around $15 billion including debt, a report published by The Wall Street Journal said citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The sources said Nielsen is conducting financing talks with several banks and a deal could be completed within weeks.

Headquartered in New York, Nielsen provides marketing data collection and analytics services across the world. The company has a debt load of more than $5 billion.

After the news was released on Monday, NLSN stock gained 30.1%. However, it lost almost 1% in after-hours trading to end the day at $22.65.

Wall Street’s Take

Last week, Citigroup (NYSE: C) analyst Jason Bazinet maintained a Hold rating on the stock and lowered the price target to $19 from $21 (17% downside potential).

Additionally, Toni Kaplan from Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) reiterated a Sell rating on Nielsen with a $15 price target (34.4% downside potential).

Overall, the stock has a Hold consensus rating based on 1 Buy, 4 Holds and 2 Sells. The average NLSN price target of $20.14 implies 12% downside potential. Shares have lost 13.2% over the past year.

Positive Sentiment

TipRanks’ Stock Investors tool shows that investors currently have a Very Positive stance on Nielsen, with nearly 30% of investors on TipRanks increasing their exposure to the stock over the past 30 days.

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