Daily Mail in Negotiations to Sell Catastrophe Modeling Subsidiary RMS

Daily Mail and General Trust Plc (DMGT) said it is in discussions to sell its catastrophe modeling insurance unit, RMS, following a number of third party inquiries.

DMGT said discussions are ongoing and there is no certainty that a transaction will result. However, if a deal is completed, the sale would take place in the third quarter of 2021, said the company, which owns the British newspaper, the Daily Mail.

DMGT said its largest shareholder, Rothermere Continuation Ltd. (RCL), has notified it of a possible cash offer to take it private — if the sale of its insurance risk unit and the U.S. floatation of another subsidiary, online used car business Cazoo, are completed.

Read more: RMS CEO White: Embracing Change in a Transforming Industry

The possible offer would give DMGT an enterprise value of £810 million ($1.13 billion), including debt but excluding RMS, the Cazoo shares and a special dividend of approximately 610 pence per DMGT share to be paid if both deals go forward.

RCL currently owns approximately 36% of DMGT, said a company representative.

Bermuda-registered RCL is owned by the 4th Viscount Rothermere, Jonathan Harmsworth, whose great-grandfather founded the Daily Mail in 1896.