Pearson surges as Apollo says it's evaluating offer

(Sharecast News) - Educational publisher Pearson said on Friday that it had rejected two preliminary and highly conditional takeover approaches from US asset manager Apollo Global Management.

Earlier in the day, Apollo said in a statement that it was in the preliminary stages of evaluating a possible cash offer for the company.

In response, Pearson said it had rejected one approach at 800p a share and another at 854.2p a share, which would value the business at around £6.4bn. Pearson said both approaches "significantly" undervalued the group and its future prospects.

"The board is confident that the lifelong learning strategy set out in March 2021 will create sustainable, long-term value for Pearson stakeholders and that the results for FY 2021 demonstrated the building momentum as Pearson executes on this new strategic vision," it said.

"The board is also mindful of its fiduciary duties in the event that an appropriate proposal is forthcoming."

At 1355 GMT, the shares were up 20.4% at 781.80p, having risen to as high as 834p earlier.

Pearson