Initial estimates value company between £2bn and £3bn…
Saga Holdings Limited, which sells its services to the over 50s in the UK, has appointed independent advisers to help explore future ownership options. This may lead to an Initial Public Offering in the second half of 2007.
Saga has appointed Close Brothers, the investment bank, to assist in deliberations. The current owners Charterhouse, the UK private equity group, funded a £1.35bn management buy out of the company in October 2004. At that time, staff received a portion of the sale proceeds as a one off bonus in the form of £1,000 for every year of service.
Saga is a well-established and successful brand in the growing baby boomer market. The company has seen considerable development since 2004. Insurance Times reported in February that Saga was considering a £2bn flotation or sale. According to today's reports in the Financial Times the company could be worth as much as £3bn.
Saga Chief Executive, Andrew Goodsell, said : "Saga has made excellent progress in the period since the management buyout. We are well ahead of expectations, and consistently outperforming our business plans. The management team and Charterhouse agree that this is an appropriate time to consider the best future ownership structure to allow the company to maximise its growth potential. There was great interest in an IPO in 2004, though our outgoing shareholder decided not to pursue a float at that time. It is too early in the process to predict the outcome this time, but we will be making further announcements in due course."
