Hyve suitor Providence said to weigh bid for Ascential events arm

Buyout firm Providence Equity Partners is reportedly hatching plans to bid for the events arm of Ascential as it looks to bolt it together with rival Hyve, for which it has made a £306m takeover approach.

In January, Ascential announced plans to separate its worldwide digital commerce assets into an independent, publicly-traded company listed in the US. It also said it was putting WGSN up for sale, while its events business would continue with a UK listing as Ascential.

Sky News cited City insiders on Friday as saying that Providence could seek to combine the Ascential division with Hyve if it is successful with its bid for the latter company.

Providence is also among the private equity firms examining bids for WGSN, the fashion forecasting arm of Ascential, Sky said.

It was understood that other major buyout firms are examining bids for both WGSN and the events arm.

At 1345 GMT, Ascential shares were up 2.8% at 276p.