Informa considering $4.3 bln private equity bid

LONDON (Reuters) - British events organizer and publisher Informa is considering a 2.15 billion pound ($4.3 billion) bid approach from a consortium of private equity firms, sending its shares 10 percent higher on Wednesday.

Informa said in a statement that Providence Equity LLP, The Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman had made a bid proposal of 506 pence a share on June 26.

"Discussions continue to be at an early stage and there can be no certainty that an offer will be made," it said.

Informa shares were 10 percent higher at 416 pence by 0820 GMT, still well below the proposed takeout price.

When news emerged last month that the equity firms were working on a bid for the media company, the shares showed only modest gains as analysts questioned whether a deal would succeed in the current tight credit markets.

Informa, publisher of the maritime publication Lloyd's List, has a market capitalization of around 1.9 billion pounds and had 1.2 billion pounds of debt as at the end of 2007.

News of the private equity interest had emerged on the same day in June that merger talks with United Business Media collapsed.

"We believe the relative ease with which Informa could be dismantled either by business or industry vertical could make the group more digestible," Numis analysts said in a note.

"Should an offer not be forthcoming, the group could still reconsider a merger with UBM," they added.

Analysts have said that Informa, which was built up through mergers and acquisitions, could be dismantled into more manageable pieces and sold off.

(Reporting by Mark Potter and Mike Elliott; Editing by Paul Bolding/Rory Channing)