Nielsen Sells Global Connect Consumer/Retail Measurement Division

Sells Division

NIELSEN HOLDINGS PLC is selling its consumer and retail measurement division NIELSEN GLOBAL CONNECT to private equity firm ADVENT INTERNATIONAL and former TRANSUNION CEO JIM PECK for $2.7 billion plus warrants in the new company. NIELSEN GLOBAL CONNECT CEO DAVID RAWLINSON will remain on board through closing and is expected to stay on board with the new ownership; the new company will be named NIELSENIQ and will be given a 20 year license to use the NIELSEN name and trademarks.

“This is a win for both NIELSEN GLOBAL CONNECT and for NIELSEN (REMAINCO), as well as for our shareholders,” said NIELSEN CEO DAVID KENNY, “The sale of this business to ADVENT will deliver substantial value sooner than was anticipated through the planned spin-off and creates certainty for all stakeholders. The proceeds from the sale will allow NIELSEN to significantly reduce debt, which will provide greater financial flexibility to execute our growth strategy and expand our role in the global media marketplace. At the same time, we are excited about this opportunity for NIELSEN GLOBAL CONNECT and believe that moving forward as a private company will better position the business to accelerate its transformation and strengthen its market-leading position. With the support of Advent’s resources and expertise, we believe the new company will create and define the next century of consumer and market measurement. We thank the entire NIELSEN GLOBAL CONNECT team for their invaluable partnership and look forward to continuing a strong working relationship with them in the future.

“All of the terrific work done by so many to pursue a spin-off will position both businesses to thrive as standalone companies and will allow us to execute a smooth transaction. We are grateful for all of this dedicated work.”

“NIELSEN GLOBAL CONNECT is the gold standard in retail measurement, with exceptional insights and unrivaled scale and coverage of the global CPG and retail markets,” said PECK. “As customers face a rapidly evolving marketplace, we recognize that they have high expectations for NIELSEN GLOBAL CONNECT to help them meet these new demands and to build on its existing core platform and other retail measurement capabilities. We intend to work with DAVID RAWLINSON and the talented management team to accelerate the delivery of new capabilities and to continue the transformation underway to build an innovative, high-performing culture acutely focused on delivering value to customers around the world.” 

“ADVENT is thrilled to partner with JIM in driving this next phase of growth for NIELSEN GLOBAL CONNECT,” said ADVENT Managing Partner CHRIS EGAN. “ADVENT has invested in data and information services companies for nearly three decades, and earlier this year we teamed up with JIM to identify a compelling business in the sector where we can apply our combined experience and resources to create value. We see tremendous potential to build on GLOBAL CONNECT’s cutting-edge platform, drawing on our global footprint and operational strength to further scale the business and advance its leadership across established and emerging markets.

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