Glanbia’s performance nutrition business, GPN, could be worth as much as $3 billion based on multiples posted by its peers, according to market sources.
he Irish food and nutrition company’s valuation is likely to come under closer scrutiny after it was revealed last week that Frankfurt-based activist shareholder Clearway Capital had taken a position in the company.
The fund, founded by Gianluca Ferrari, has not yet declared its holdings, suggesting that holdings are below the 3% threshold at which investors must publicly declare a holding on the stock exchange.
Glanbia PLC’s market cap is currently around €3 billion, but some sources believe the GPN business alone could be close to that. Glanbia has some of the strongest brands in the whey protein space, but has disappointed some investors in terms of innovation and expansion outside the US.
The other division, Glanbia Nutritionals — which houses its American cheese business — alongside joint ventures, could be worth around €1.7 billion, according to industry estimates.
This suggests there could be a valuation for the group of €4.6 billion and a premium of 30 to 40 percent to the share price on Thursday, the day Bloomberg first reported the holding.
As already reported in the Sunday independent, closing the deal could unlock that value. A trade sale of GPN is one option, while a stock split, facilitated by GPN’s separate listing, is one of the ways the protein division could achieve a higher valuation.
Clearway hasn’t commented on its investment, but typically such funds will reach out to other shareholders to gather support, in addition to seeking a change in management.
A spokeswoman for Glanbia said: “We do not comment on the share register. We continuously exchange ideas with our shareholders.”
https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/glanbia-protein-arm-could-unlock-significant-value-41577379.html Glanbia low protein could unlock significant value
