Bid approach lifts Wilmington Group

Stop the presses . . . Despite the doom and gloom over the slump in advertising, it appears that there is still some appetite for media stocks. Wilmington Group confirmed as much yesterday when it revealed that it had received a preliminary bid approach. The company, which publishes Press Gazette, the trade magazine for journalists, and also provides legal training, has been the subject of takeover speculation for some time and market-watchers were eager yesterday to talk up the possibility that more offers could materialise. Hg Capital was being touted yesterday as the likely source of the approach, which the board of Wilmington said “may or may not lead to an offer for the company”. Any bid by Hg, which recently disposed of Boosey & Hawkes, the music publishing business, would probably be made as part of a private equity... [read full story]