Facilitating Acquisition at a 59% Premium for a Global Financial Services Company

Our client, a global B2B financial services company listed on Euronext, was facing a persistent trading discount due to missed earnings and inconsistent reporting, eroding market confidence. The situation was further intensified by PE-owned peers. Recognising the need to tap into their value-creation potential, they engaged us to conduct an extensive perception study. We quickly learned that the market only partially acknowledged our client’s core objectives, tech-enablement strategy and M&A track record.

Led by Severine Camp and Faisal Kanth, our team designed and executed a bespoke perception study, diving into critical themes related to strategy, operations, financial performance, investment proposition and governance. Armed with these insights, we created a roadmap to address the market’s misconceptions, clarify the story and promote best-practice engagement. Our script and storyboard for the investment case and management presentation reflected a clear capital allocation framework, highlighting growth avenues and future proof points, including non-financial KPIs.

Storyboard complete, we meticulously prepared management for Q&A sessions to address potential challenges with confidence. We also qualified new investors to shift sentiment and diversify the shareholder base. Our strategy and highly personalised approach led to a gradual change in the shareholder base, with activist investors fading away and anchor shareholders bringing stability. Delighted with the results, the company retained us as their strategic communications advisor to aid the company’s capital market interactions, including a CEO transition, activism defence and negotiations with private equity for a potential public-to-private transaction.