Cinven emerges as frontrunner for ICG’s With Intelligence

London-based Cinven is vying with two other private equity firms as owner Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) prepares to collect binding offers on Wednesday, said the sources. Cinven is being advised by Moelis on its bid, two of them added.

ICG and sale adviser Houlihan Lokey are aiming to select a preferred bidder and sign a deal by the end of next week, the sources said.

Representatives for ICG, Houlihan Lokey, Cinven and Moelis declined to comment. With Intelligence did not respond to requests for comment.

Should an agreement be reached, a sale of With Intelligence would cap off a competitive auction that also attracted interest from buyout groups including Carlyle, Hg, Warburg Pincus and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.

With Intelligence, which owns brands including Hedge Fund Alert, Eurekahedge and Pension Funds Online, is being pitched off a projected 2023 EBITDA of about GBP 20m, Mergermarket reported previously.

At a time when financial sponsors are being forced to reduce leverage in buyouts, ICG is exploring the possibility of offering the preferred bidder a vendor financing package worth approximately 6x the company’s EBITDA, two of the sources said.

Any deal is expected to value With Intelligence at a mid- to high-teens EBITDA multiple, two of the sources added.

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