Capita quashes rumours of private equity sale

Capita has denied "media speculation" that it has received any purchase offer from a large European private equity house.

The outsourcing giant saw its share price spike 12 per cent on the back of rumours that CVC Partners was interested in acquiring it.

The rumours suggested that the European private equity firm was not interested in a takeover bid of Capita, but was interested in buying up some of the units it is trying to sell, reported Reuters, citing someone familiar with the matter.

CVC may be interested in snapping up the company's Education Software Solutions (ESS) unit, which is valued at around £500m, the source said.

LSE-listed Capita last month reported a bleak H1, which saw revenues tank nearly 10 per cent, losing £80m in revenue as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has so far sold its Eclipse Legal Systems division to Access UK for over £56m and its Workplace Technology underwent an MBO, lead by its founder Paul Gillett.

Capita's CEO Jon Lewis stated that further divestiture was in the pipeline.

"We have had to focus on managing our way through the crisis, while accelerating some strategic decisions, including our plan for the disposal of Education Software Solutions, a standalone business in our Software division," he stated last month.

"We expect to make further disposals which, alongside other measures, will strengthen the balance sheet and help build towards a more focused, sustainable Capita for the long term. These are unprecedented times and we need to adapt but our strategy remains the right one."

Capita is also reportedly shuttering up to 100 of its offices in the UK, as it pivoted 85 per cent of its 45,000 staff to a remote working model.

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• Topics
• Services and Outsourcing
• Capita
• Private Equity
• Mergers and Acquisitions