http://www.thebusinessonline.com/Stories.aspx?Merger%20market%20confirms%20sale%20plans&StoryID=B5979FF1-8663-4967-AAB0-C997F3D1750F&SectionID=F3B76EF0-7991-4389-B72E-D07EB5AA1CEE

Merger market confirms sale plans
By Ben Marlow
16 April 2006


NEW Media Spark, the technology venture capital firm, is pressing ahead with a sale of Mergermarket, the mergers and acquisitions online news service. The company hopes to raise more than 200m (E279m, $350m) from the sale of a business it helped to launch about six years ago.

Boutique advisory firm Hawkpoint was hired to conduct a strategic review of Mergermarket and is understood to have initially favoured a float of the business because of the favourable conditions for IPOs. But the level of interest from potential buyers coupled with the general appetite for new media companies has encouraged New Media Spark to press ahead with a sale.

The plans were decided last week and Information Memorandum was sent out to potential buyers. They have until the end of April to submit preliminary bids.

A secondary buyout is most likely as Mergermarkets chief executive Caspar Hobbs has further ambitions for the company. He is understood to want to remain in charge for at least another two to three years. He helped launch the firm in 1999 and has transformed it from an internet start-up with less than 10 employees to a global player competing with media giants such as Thomson Financial and Reuters.

Apax Partners and 3i Group are expected to lead European private equity interest. Both firms are big players in the mid-market European media buyout sector. Veronis Suhler Stevenson is the main private equity candidate from the US. Thomson Corporation, Euro-money and Bureau Van Dijk are understood to be the main candidates. Reuters and Dow Jones have also been mentioned.

Good buying all week and no pull-back. What next?
If merger-market is not sold what sp?
If sold 20p?