Nielsen open to selling itself in pieces as auction proves a bust

An auction to sell Nielsen Holdings appꦑears to be a bust — but the ratings giant has not given up an⛎d is now looking to sell itself in pieces, The Post has learned.

The🔯 Manhattan company, known for its television ratings business, has started to contact buyers about acquiring parts of its business, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions sa⛎id.

“There is now some openness” to selling the company in pieces, one source said of the board. The board was not o🐷pen to the idea jus𒁃t a few weeks ago, this person added.

A sale of Ni🅷elsen, which has an enterprise value of more than $17 billion including debt, would have marked one o🌜f the largest leveraged buyouts since the 2008 financial crisis.

The company’s prefe🎃rence had been to sell itself whole, but it has failed to land a buyer since kicking off the sales process earlier this year.

Goldman Sa👍chs, the last private equity firm at the negotiating table, dropped out earlier this summer,🍰 sources said.

Nielsen has two s꧃ides to its business: a consumer products market share segment, which includes clients Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola; and its TV ratings business.

Billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliottꦑ Management has been pushing the company to sell itself since it took an 8.4% stake in Nielsen last year. Nielsen’s shares soared more than 20% following media reports in August 2018 that Elliott was pushing a sale — to above $27 a share from under $22.

On Tuesday, the company’s shares 𝓰closed Tuesday down 2.5%, to $22.90 a ♊share.

The Post first reported on problems with the sale in March when the auction favorite, private equity firm Blackstone, had decided not to pursue a deal after spending months studying🌳 Nielsen.

Blackston𒈔e has a deep history with the company thanks to managing director David Calhoun, w💛ho ran it between 2006 and 2013.

Nielsen and Elliott declined comment.