US private equity firm Warburg halves stake in UK’s Poundland
AMERICAN private equity firm Warburg Pincus has cut its stake in UK discount retailer Poundland from 30.4 per cent to 16.4 per cent, raising £142m via a share placing, the buyout firm said yesterday.
The New York-based company had said on Tuesday that it intended to offload 25m Poundland shares, but subsequently increased that amount to 35m on the back on strong demand. The stake was placed with institutional investors ar 405p a share.
Despite the sell off, Warburg said it remained “a significant and supportive shareholder of the company, its management team and strategy”. The firm added that it would not sell any more shares without the consent of joint bookrunners for the share offer, JP Morgan Cazenove and Credit Suisse Securities, for a period of 90 days.
Poundland stock fell seven per cent in trading yesterday following the news.