Capita denies private equity bid but shares still soar

Outsourcer Capita today denied reports that the firm could be bought by private equity firm CVC Capital Partner.

Nevertheless shares still soared 10% to 32.3p as investors said they believed private equity would be circling the company.

The contractor, which runs London’s congestion charge, has seen its stock tumble 80% this year.

The Daily Mail had reported that CVC was eyeing up Capita. The newspaper also reported that a rival suitor could want to solely buy its up-for-sale education software division.

“Possible bidders might need to offer a generous premium to try to win over shareholders,” said CMC Markets’ David Madden.

The entire company is worth only £500million, and is just managing to hold on to its place in the FTSE 250 index of mid-sized companies.

Last weekend, the Mail on Sunday revealed that Capita was planning to shutter more than a third of its 250 offices, in a crushing blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s efforts to get staff back into the workplace.