Petershill to delist from LSE, return capital to investors

Petershill Partners, the Goldman Sachs Asset Management-backed vehicle that buys stakes in private fund managers, said Thursday it will delist from the London Stock Exchange and return capital to shareholders after a lackluster four-year run. The board said strategic initiatives intended to lift shareholder returns have not materialized and that the share price no longer reflects the underlying quality and value of the assets the company holds. Petershill listed on the LSE in September 2021 with a target valuation near $5 billion and a $750 million fundraising, but its shares have languished below the IPO price and were down about a third since listing as of last week.

Petershill said a delisting would be conducted with a cash exit for free float shareholders, providing a liquidity event at a valuation that the board believes appropriately reflects the company’s attributes. If investors back the plan at a court meeting and a general meeting slated for 3 November, they will receive $4.15 per share in cash, a 35% premium to the closing price of £2.31 on Wednesday. The move would mean the group returns more than $900 million to shareholders as part of the exit. Petershill shares rose after the announcement, jumping as much as 33.2% to around 307.7p in early trading.

The decision comes as higher interest rates have made debt more expensive and fundraising more challenging for private equity strategies, weighing on Petershill’s appeal as a vehicle that provides capital to fund managers in exchange for stakes in their businesses. Shares have historically traded at a sizeable discount to the group’s book value, a dynamic some market observers say reflects investor skepticism about the structure and its underlying assets. The prospect of a UK tax regime that could target private equity has also fed into the caution around continued public listing for a vehicle that is heavily concentrated among its backers. On Thursday, Steve Clayton, head of equity funds at Hargreaves Lansdown, offered context on the market’s long-running questions about Petershill, noting that the structure has puzzled investors and that backers have now chosen to offer a cash exit rather than watch the stock languish at a substantial discount to book value.

The delisting would mark a rare exit for an asset-light private equity vehicle that aimed to give public investors exposure to the value created by private managers. Petershill is majority owned by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and the planned return of capital underscores the broader shift in some corners of the market as rates rise and fund-raising dynamics tighten. The company stressed that the proposed cash exit would be subject to regulatory and court approvals and that, if approved, the delisting would be completed in due course. The strategic decision follows a period in which Petershill’s shares never exceeded their IPO price, and the listed vehicle faced ongoing scrutiny from investors about how its assets were valued and how the business would generate returns in a higher-rate environment.

The market reaction to the delisting news highlighted the tension between private equity’s long-term value creation and the public market’s price discipline. While the cash offer provides certainty to minority holders at a premium to the pre-announcement price, it remains below the company’s earlier book-value estimates, which has prompted debate among analysts and investors about whether the exit price fairly represents the underlying assets. The company’s backers, who hold the controlling stake, have indicated that proceeding with a delisting is the best path to unlock value for all shareholders amid a challenging external environment. The court meeting and general meeting on 3 November will determine whether the plan proceeds to completion, after which Petershill would become a privately held entity. Image choices below illustrate industry context and branding related to the story.