Poundland sale delayed due to CEO’s illness amid market volatility
Poundland owner Steinhoff International has reportedly paused the potential sale of its European arm Pepco amid increased market volatility and its chief executive’s leave of absence.
Steinhoff announced last year that it was mulling a range of strategic options for Pepco Group, which contains Poundland, including a potential public listing.
However the process has been delayed amid a global outbreak of coronavirus that has caused global stocks to crash and heaped uncertainty on trading, according to Bloomberg.
Steinhoff has reportedly opted to delay sale proceedings while Pepco’s chief executive Andy Bond takes a leave of absence for medical reasons unrelated to coronavirus.
Three private equity firms have reportedly been considering a bid for the company.
Advent International, Hellman & Friedman and Mid Europa Partners have teamed up for a potential offer for Pepco that could value the company at more than £3.83bn, Sky News reported last month.
Bond last month said it is “almost inevitable” that Pepco will be sold, saying he was “genuinely open minded” on the disposal options.
In its latest trading update Pepco said group total revenue growth increased 13.3 per cent in the first quarter, with like-for-like sales growth of 3.9 per cent.
Poundland’s revenue was up 1.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis against a “weak consumer backdrop”. The budget store had a record trading day on 23 December, when it served almost 1.6m customers.