Private equity group must walk away for six months under UK takeover rules
Apollo has dropped plans to buy the UK education publisher Pearson after the private equity group’s £7bn takeover offer was rejected.
It also marks the latest high-profile target that Apollo has circled in the UK without ultimately striking a deal, having previously considered buying supermarkets Asda and Wm Morrison. The $481bn buyout group is also among the potential buyers of the UK chemist chain Boots.
The deal would have allowed Apollo to draw on a playbook it used when it owned rival textbook publisher McGraw Hill. Under Apollo’s ownership, the company shifted its focus toward digital products. The buyout group sold McGraw Hill to Platinum Equity for $4.5bn last year.
Read more: FT
