29 Mar 2022
Evergreen, Brookfield-led consortium to acquire Nielsen for $20 billion
Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation and Brookfield Asset Management acquired Nielsen Holdings for $20 billion. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Herbert Smith Freehills served as Evergreen's legal counsel, while Davis Polk & Wardwell advised Brookfield. The financial advisory team for the buyers included BofA Securities, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Mizuho Securities USA, HSBC Securities (USA), and Citi.
Nielsen's legal advisors were Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Clifford Chance, DLA Piper, and Baker McKenzie, with J.P. Morgan and Allen & Company as lead financial advisors, and PJT Partners as an additional advisor.
Bank of America, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Mizuho Securities USA, HSBC Bank USA, KKR Capital Markets, Citi, Nomura Securities International, and Ares Capital Management provided the debt financing for the transaction.
James A. Attwood, Chairperson of the Nielsen Board, emphasized that the acquisition offered shareholders significant cash value and upheld the company's commitments. Evergreen and Elliott, through Jesse Cohn and Marc Steinberg, expressed confidence in Nielsen's continued industry leadership, especially with the Nielsen ONE roadmap. Dave Gregory of Brookfield highlighted Nielsen's strengthened position to monitor consumer behavior as a private entity, investing in the company's future in audience measurement.
