Micro Focus shares drop after it ends takeover talks with Bain and Advent
SHARES in IT firm Micro Focus International slumped more than six per cent yesterday after it ended four months of takeover talks.
The firm, which supports mainframe computer applications for companies like Tesco, saw its stock close down 15.82p at 247.18p.
The deadline for takeover offers passed on Friday and Micro Focus said bids had fallen short of expectations.
Micro Focus had been considering approaches from a number of suitors since April, including US private equity firms Bain Capital and Advent International, but it has abandoned plans for a sale and resumed its share buyback scheme.
The board has permission to buy back up to 12.3m shares under the existing scheme.
Last week shares in Micro Focus rose after Hewlett-Packard’s $10.2bn (£6.2bn) bid for Autonomy ignited investor interest in the European software industry.