Adtech group Tremor triggers fresh City shockwave with US move

An advertising technology group which has seen its shares endure a prolonged slump is exploring moving its public listing to New York, in the latest sign of an exodus from the London market.

Sky News has learnt that Tremor International, which counts the former Sun editor Rebekah Brooks among its board members, is involved in detailed deliberations about cancelling its UK listing.

A final decision has yet to be taken, sources said on Thursday, but could be before Tremor’s next annual shareholder meeting, which is expected to take place next month.

Tremor has seen its London-listed shares halve in the last year – partly as a consequence of waning enthusiasm for technology-related stocks – and now has a market capitalisation of just £200m.

For months, the company has attracted sporadic interest from potential buyers, including Teads, a rival owned by Patrick Drahi, the entrepreneur who owns a major stake in BT Group.

None of those expressions of interest have led to the disclosure of any formal takeover talks.

Tremor already has a US listing through equity instruments known as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), which it launched in June 2021.

The company is now a US-focused business in terms of its revenue base, and is said to have believed for some time that being closer to its American investors would also be beneficial from a valuation perspective.

However, to date, the ADR listing has not stemmed Tremor’s valuation decline, and the company’s board is thought to believe that a formal US share listing could yet address the issue more effectively.

If it does decide to cancel its London Stock exchange listing, Tremor would become the latest in a growing tide flowing across the Atlantic.

This week, Marsh McLennan, the insurance broker, said it would delist in London because most of the trading in its shares takes place in New York, where it has its primary listing.

The most significant recent example of a prominent British business opting to move to the US is Flutter Entertainment, the owner of Paddy Power and Betfair, which is expected to abandon the City altogether in the medium term.

Others have included CRH, the building materials company.

YouGov, the pollster and data analysis group, and IWG, the shared office provider, have signalled that they could be open to similar moves in future.

The number of companies shifting their listings to the US has been compounded by a recent flurry of take-private deals, in which listed companies are acquired by private equity firms or other investors.

Among the latter category, The Restaurant Group, which owns Wagamama, has recommended a £500m bid from Apollo Global Management.

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Others have seen London-listed companies acquired by overseas competitors, such as property portal OnTheMarket’s takeover by US real estate giant CoStar.

The growing exodus has prompted a frenzy of soul-searching about London’s status as a global financial centre.

David Schwimmer, the London Stock Exchange Group chief executive, has sought to play down concerns about the issue, arguing that recent initiatives to divert more capital from UK pension funds into London-listed equities would benefit the market.

Julia Hoggett, who runs the Exchange itself, has called for greater acceptance among shareholders of US-style pay packages in order for London to compete more effectively with New York.

A Tremor spokesman declined to comment.

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