Cardiff-headquartered Admiral Group Plc is said to be exploring the possibility of offloading its comparison platforms network Penguin Portals.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said the potential price tag for Penguin Portals could be as much as US$500 million (around £399 million). No particular company was mentioned as a likely suitor, but investment bank Houlihan Lokey was named as the entity examining Admiral’s options.
Described on its website as “the largest colony of its kind anywhere in the world,” the Penguin Portals network consists of holding groups Penguin Portals Ltd and Preminen Price Comparison Holdings Ltd.
The latter, which is a joint venture between Admiral and insurance peer MAPFRE, is in charge of newer comparison operations Rastreator.mx in Mexico, Turkey’s Tamoniki.com, and Indian platform GoSahi.com. Penguin Portals Ltd, meanwhile, is the wholly owned Admiral subsidiary responsible for comparison businesses Confused.com (UK), Rastreator.com (Spain), and LeLynx.fr (France).
It is understood that the transaction being mulled spans the whole six-country network, which private equity firms may find attractive.
