AIM-listed Daisy Group has once again extended the deadline for a consortium fronted by its CEO, Matthew Riley, to buy it out.
Riley, asset manager Toscafund and private equity firm Penta now have until 20 October to formalise their £1.90 per share…
AIM-listed Daisy Group has once again extended the deadline for a consortium fronted by its CEO, Matthew Riley, to buy it out.
Riley, asset manager Toscafund and private equity firm Penta now have until 20 October to formalise their £1.90 per share offer (US$3.11) to acquire Daisy and make a firm offer for the UK telecoms and internet provider, or walk away.
The consortium asked for the latest extension to “consider and finalise certain aspects of its proposal”.
Riley, Toscafund and Penta made a preliminary approach in late July that valued Daisy at £507m (US$817m). Under UK takeover law, the syndicate initially had until 10 September to make a binding offer but extended the deadline to 22 September, and then to 6 October.
Riley, who has led Daisy since founding it in 1991, already has a stake of roughly 23%, while Toscafund holds about 28.5%.
Penta sold its UK B2B telco SpiriTel to Daisy back in 2010 for £27m (US$45m). SpiriTel, like Daisy, was a growth vehicle that rapidly gained scale by consolidating the country’s fragmented reseller marketplace.
Liberum is Daisy’s nominated adviser, and is also advising on the UK takeover code. Oakley Capital is its financial adviser. Toscafund listed JP Morgan for enquiries.
Daisy’s shares are currently trading at £1.83 and the telco has a market capitalisation of £489m.