Shares in Informa surged at the open on Wednesday after confirming a private equity consortium had made a tentative 506p-per-share approach, valuing the the trade fairs and scientific journals business at £3.4bn including debt.

If successfully completed, the approach from Providence Equity Partners, Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman would rank as the world’s largest private equity bid since leveraged finance markets seized up late last summer.