Dun & Bradstreet Could Be Worth $12 an Hour in Sales; S&P Global Most Logical Buyer – Analyst

Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) could be valued at about $12 per share if acquired, according to a Raymond James analyst, after Reuters reported on Friday that the data and analytics provider was considering a potential sale after attracting takeover interest.

Business confirmed on Monday that it has received approaches to takeover from third parties and evaluates them.

S&P Global (SPGI) makes the most sense as an acquirer and could pay ~$12 per share, a 30% premium to Dun & Bradstreet’s (DNB) share price at the time, Raymond James analyst Patrick O’Shaughnessy wrote in a note Monday. The S&P Global deal is unlikely to have antitrust issues.

“This equates to ~13/12x our 2024/2025 EPS estimates and ~9/8x on an EV/EBITDA basis, but would still represent a significant discount to the companies we consider to be D&B’s peer group,” O’Shaughnessy, who has a Strong Buy rating and $19 price target on DNB, wrote.

Another strong candidate for DNB is Moody’s (MCO), although the deal would likely raise “significant” antitrust risks. Other potential buyers include LSE Group or credit bureaus Experian (OTCQX:EXPGF), TransUnion (TRU) and Equifax (EFX).

Private equity investors may also be interested in a deal with Dun & Bradstreet (DNB), although the company’s net debt to EBITDA ratio of 3.7x may be a hurdle.

“Another potential obstacle to private equity deals is that the typical PE cost-cutting approach has already been implemented in D&B…,” O’Shaughnessy added.

Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) increased by 1.6% on Monday, after rising 15% on Friday following a Reuters report on the takeover.