Private equity move under scrutiny
Shareholders in jewellery group Signet are reportedly threatening to resist a bid to take the company private.

Last week, it was reported that private equity firms Apax Partners and KKR were joining forces to make a 132p-a-share bid for the company.

The Financial Times said the move has prompted claims that private equity firms are buying public companies cheaply, leveraging them with debt and refloating them at a premium.

In a letter to the Financial Times, Investec analyst Alastair Mundy said: 'The benefits accrued from the asset sales and working capital improvements following the Debenhams deal can be easily replicated by the sale or securitisation of Signet's loan book and a reduction in inventory.'

Mundy added: 'The management team at Signet has been an excellent custodian of the business and could comfortably employ all or any of the devices mentioned, while maintaining the company as a quoted vehicle.'

Last Thursday, shares in Signet rose 15 per cent in the morning following reports that private equity firms were planning a£2.3 billion takeover bid.

It is understood that the two parties have been in contact, although no formal offer has been made.

Although listed in the UK, more than 75 per cent of the group's sales come from the US, where it operates the Kays and Jareds brands.

In the UK, Signet owns the H Samuel and Ernest Jones chains.

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