Another London-listed firm heads for private hands in £100m sofa deal
Sofa giant SCS is set to become the latest London-listed firm to go private after accepting a near-£100mn deal from an Italian-based furniture retailer.
ScS, which has around 100 stores in the UK under its own brand as well as Snug, will complement Poltronesofà’s European expansion plans, the two firms confirmed to markets this morning.
The deal values ScS at £99m, with the deal offering a cool 66 per cent premium on its most recent closing price.
Poltronesofà said it was particularly attracted to ScS’ mature e-commerce operation.
The Italian giant operates more than 150 stores in Italy, 106 stores in France and a couple of dozen more across the rest of continental Europe.
It is the latest take-private on the embattled London markets.
Small and medium-sized firms are leaving the exchange at an average rate of one a week.
Treasury and City figures are continuing efforts to give the London Stock Exchange its mojo back. Though the capital still represents by far the biggest exchange in Europe, it is increasingly being seen by potential issuers as riven with under-valued stocks and predatory private equity.
Alan Smith, ScS’ non-exec chair, said the board unanimously recommended the acquisition.
“The ScS Board believes Poltronesofà will bring significant benefits to ScS through its broad industry expertise in addition to providing the necessary capital that would accelerate our current strategy, albeit in a private rather than public sphere. The Acquisition will enable ScS to continue as part of a broader, pan-European entity in pursuit of its strategy and position it for long-term success in the UK,” he said.
The acquisition is expected to complete in the first quarter of next year.