Ascential Share Discussion Threads

[yvonne] 10/5/2024 09:26

Well I couldn't understand it at all. Filled in the action notice, and now my shares have disappeared from my account so assume they have been sold. Guess that means I won't get the dividend?

[davetedjack] 09/5/2024 22:23

Obviously a very quiet board but does anyone have a view on the share consolidation and special dividend I usually avoid these and wait for things to settle before buying inBeen in and out recently for a small profit but don't know if I want to do it again with this consolidation hanging around

[samdb] 03/11/2023 09:46

Tipped in Investors Chronicle

[samdb] 31/10/2023 10:46

Informa is 28 I think

[rimau1] 30/10/2023 12:17

Bang on mine 74tom, i think 15x is cheap for an events business, informa off the top of my head is 17-18x

[74tom] 30/10/2023 10:29

LOL. You'd be in the boat, the transaction isn't expected to close until Q1 2024, any dividend would be paid after this.

[thunders] 30/10/2023 09:50

If i buy share today , do i get a special divi or i missed the boat?

[74tom] 30/10/2023 09:30

I come to an EPS of ~9p per share for the market business post special dividend;

£85m adjusted EBITDA last year, corporate costs to absorb of ~£20m, interest costs of ~£10m on the remaining debt (~£130m @8%), tax of 25% ,unsure on D&A but assuming nothing for now

With a special divi of ~£1.90 on the way, that would leave shares trading at around £1, so a P/E 11x. At £3.30 that P/E would be 15.5x

The events business growth is very good, however given the current marketing environment I'm not convinced it warrants a 15x multiple?

Do these figures look about right @rimau1?

[rimau1] 30/10/2023 08:10

Post coffee review of numbers i am continuing to hold, Q1'24 target price £3.30

[rimau1] 30/10/2023 07:25

As per my post #11 the sum of the parts here worth far greater than the marketcap. However the sales price achieved was below my expectations so not sure we will fly too high this morning. Events should have been in for free but not quite (after taxes transaction costs etc) as it turns out. Still a decent 20% discount to my TBV calcs, lets see how the market reacts.

[kalai1] 22/9/2023 11:18

Ascential plc posted interims for the period to 30th June this morning. Group revenues were up 18% to £307.4m, adjusted EBITDA was up 17% to £78.6m, reported operating profit was £0.7m from a loss of £35.1m a year earlier. Closing net debt was down a little to £205.6m giving a leverage ratio of 1.6x EBITDA, gearing ratios remain manageable. Valuation is average for the Professional & Commercial Services sector with forward PE ratio at 12.4x. Share price remains in an 8-month correction and lacks positive momentum accordingly. ASCL remains share to monitor for the time being...

...from WealthOracle

[ashbox] 24/8/2023 11:23

With the share price approaching the all time low, the CFO decides there is not sufficient work at ASCL so takes on a non-exec job.

[rimau1] 12/6/2023 13:27

Are we about to receive the WGSN offer?

[hiddendepths] 01/6/2023 09:50

From Citywire

Stuart Widdowson, manager of Odyssean (OIT), the popular UK smaller companies investment trust which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, is amazed that rival open-ended funds are being forced to dump small-cap stocks as too illiquid when valuations at this end of the stock market are so low.

Speaking at the recent Frostrow investment companies conference, Widdowson said he saw open-ended funds selling media conglomerate Ascential (ASCL), depressing its shares even after it announced a breakup and disposal that crystallised value for shareholders.

[lomax99] 17/5/2023 18:43

ASCL-- Ascential PLC's consumer data business has attracted the interest of a private equity firm advised by the former head of the Daily Mail's parent, Sky News reported on Tuesday.Paul Zwillenberg, who stepped down as chief executive of Daily Mail & General Trust last autumn, is working with the buyout firm BC Partners on its interest in WGSN, which is owned by FTSE 250-listed events group Ascential, Sky reported.Zwillenberg is working alongside Elizabeth Deeming, a former executive at Stylus Media Group and News Corp, on the deal.City sources said Ascential had asked for initial offers for WGSN, which supplies data on fashion trends to the industry, this week, the report noted.The business is understood to be valued at more than GBP700 million, with Apax Partners, another buyout firm, among the rival bidders to BC Partners.Neither Zwillenberg nor Deeming is expected to have an ongoing role in the WGSN business if BC's bid is successful, according to people close to the situation, Sky reported.https://news.sky.com/story/ex-daily-mail-chief-is-ascential-to-buyout-firms-wgsn-bid-12882110Ascential in January announced plans to sharpen its events focus and separate its digital commerce assets into an independent US-listed company. It also proposed to sell consumer trends unit WGSN, with its UK listing continuing as an events company.Ascential said the moves will provide growth funds for the company. It said a "significant" amount of any WGSN proceeds will be returned to shareholders.The soon-to-be spun out digital unit will be better enabled to "attract and retain talent, have its own currency for M&A and ultimately open up incremental pools of capital", Ascential said at the time.

[redalert] 16/5/2023 13:56

It looks like there is some progress on the break-up
hxxps://news.sky.com/story/ex-daily-mail-chief-is-ascential-to-buyout-firms-wgsn-bid-12882110

[masurenguy] 12/5/2023 07:29

"Ascential (LSE: ASCL), at 242p, is a cheap but slightly complicated medium-sized special situation. The business consists of three different divisions and the sum of the parts has for some time appeared to be significantly higher than the share price. Recent results have reflected the company’s resilience, with the events business benefiting from the post-Covid recovery, offsetting any weakness elsewhere. Most significantly, the company has declared its intent to break itself up to realise value. The events business will remain listed in the UK. The high-quality, highly prized business information business WGSN will be sold, and the digital content business will be listed on the US Nasdaq market. Recent brokers’ notes suggest a sum-of-the-parts valuation between 380p and 450p using conservative assumptions; the current price is 248p. It is somewhat surprising that the shares have not responded more strongly to the clear strategy to break the business up."
MoneyWeek: 11 May 2023

Richard Penny of TM CRUX UK Special Situations Fund thinks that this company is substantially undervalued at its current price. I've still no position here but it now goes onto my watchlist.

[rimau1] 02/2/2023 16:52

Long and strong here, sum of the parts will show the hidden value IMO.

[fredsdead] 27/1/2023 15:11

Up c.30%. Should I sell (to use some of my free CGT allowance) or hold to reap the rewards?

[blackhorse23] 25/1/2023 08:38

Took my profits out & reinvested in CURY , LOL

[lomax99] 25/1/2023 08:26

Tempted to use cash returned to buy shares in the demerged entity, the Chair & CEO clearly think that is the better bet.

[masurenguy] 19/10/2022 06:54

Shareprice now 54% down on the last share placing @432p only 15 months ago!

Ed Wielechowski of Odyssean Capital thinks that they “combines a portfolio of stable, high-margin, predictable events and data businesses with a newer digital-commerce division.”. The core of the digital-commerce division helps companies manage their presence and marketing spend on platforms such as Amazon in the US. This gives Ascential a diverse global footprint. He also says that this business is a “rare gem” in the UK with scope for it to become very profitable, although these profits are being reinvested to drive growth at present according to an article in MoneyWeek.

No position.