Daisy Group CEO Matthew Riley lines up £500m takeover by Toscafund
The chief executive of Daisy Group, the business communications services provider, has moved to take the company private just months after takeover talks with Virgin Media-owner Liberty Global collapsed.
Daisy, with a market valuation of £466.5m, said it had received an approach for a possible cash offer of 190p per share from Toscafund Asset Management on behalf of a consortium, which included Daisy boss Matthew Riley and Penta Capital.
“This… is not an announcement of a firm intention to make an offer,” said Daisy, confirming only that the consortium had approached it to enter discussions.
Star fund manager Neil Woodford is in line for a windfall should a deal go ahead. In May, Woodford declared a four per cent stake in Daisy, which would net him £2m if a deal occurs.
Riley, who founded Daisy Group in 1991, currently controls a 23 per cent stake in the firm while consortium partner Toscafund holds 28.5 per cent.
For a deal to happen, Riley must acquire 75 per cent of the firm’s remaining shares to complete a scheme of arrangement, whereby a minority group of shareholders can remain in the stock after the company is taken private. Or he must acquire 90 per cent of the remaining shares for a complete takeover, whereby minority shareholders can be bought out.
Asset manager Toscafund yesterday confirmed the approach, but said the consortium was not yet considered “joint offerors” under the Takeover Code. Shares in Daisy rose 9.7 per cent on the news to 192p.