A Goldman Sachs investment vehicle plans to quit the London Stock Exchange, having struggled to attract investor interest since going public four years ago.
Goldman founded Petershill Partners in 2007 and listed the company’s shares in an initial public offering in 2021, promising investors access to the fast-growing alternative asset-management industry.
Petershill owns stakes in two dozen relatively small private-equity firms and hedge funds, earning a slice of their investment profits and management fees. Its stock had fallen more than a third since its IPO. Partly, that reflects a broader trend in the private-equity industry: Investors are gravitating toward giants such as Apollo and Blackstone, and steering clear of smaller players.
On Thursday, Petershill said it would pay public shareholders more than $920 million in return for canceling their shares. The investment company said the stock market had failed to give it the value it deserved.
The private-equity industry has found it harder to raise money and sell assets in recent years because of higher interest rates, Petershill Chairman Naguib Kheraj said. Investors in most sectors are also shunning smaller stocks, he added. “That’s not a London thing. It’s a global thing,” Kheraj said.
Petershill’s shares jumped on news of the plan, reflecting the premium the company said it would pay investors to go private again. The transaction would value Petershill at about $4.5 billion.
If the plan goes ahead, a group of investment funds managed by Goldman’s asset-management arm would fully own the company. Those funds already own almost 80% of Petershill.
The delisting would be the latest blow to London’s stock exchange, which has struggled to attract new listings and lost some notable companies both to New York and to private-equity buyers.
From the get-go as a public company, Petershill had difficulties. As shares slid in its early weeks on the stock exchange, analysts pointed to opacity about what the vehicle owned and the fees it received from firms in its portfolio.
Petershill tried to reverse its fortunes by selling some of its stakes, making new investments and returning money to shareholders. But Petershill said its board concluded that the company’s share price didn’t reflect the quality of its assets. Since the start of 2024, Petershill shares have traded at a discount of 37% to the firm’s book value, the company said.
