(Bloomberg) -- A consortium backed by Blackstone Inc. is exploring a potential acquisition of European online classifieds company Adevinta ASA in what would be one of the year’s biggest buyouts, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The investor group, which also includes European private equity firm Permira, has been studying a possible deal to take Adevinta private, the people said.
Shares of Oslo-based Adevinta, which has a market value of more than $9.7 billion, have lost more than half their value since a peak in 2021.
The Norwegian company bought eBay Inc.’s online classifieds business in a $9.2 billion cash and stock deal agreed to in 2021, beating out rival bidders including a consortium backed by Blackstone and Permira. That deal left eBay with a significant stake in Adevinta, part of which it later sold to Permira.
EBay and Norwegian media group Schibsted ASA each held about 30% of Adevinta’s voting rights at the end of last year, while Permira owns about 12% of them, according to its latest annual report.
Adevinta’s portfolio includes the Leboncoin classifieds site in France, the Mobile.de car marketplace in Germany and the Fotocasa real estate portal in Spain. It also operates Willhaben, Austria’s biggest digital marketplace, as well as Subito in Italy, Kijiji in Canada and Gumtree in Ireland, according to its website.
Deliberations are ongoing, and there’s no certainty they will result in a deal, the people said. Representatives for Blackstone and Permira declined to comment. A spokesperson for Adevinta couldn’t immediately be reached outside regular business hours.
The Betaville blog wrote earlier this week about market speculation that Adevinta was attracting takeover interest, without naming the suitors.
--With assistance from Michelle F. Davis, Ryan Gould, Loni Prinsloo, Ruth David and Jan-Henrik Förster.
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