Brammer’s board accepts bumper offer after tumultuous 2016
Shares in UK parts distributor Brammer soared nearly 70 per cent after receiving a premium offer from a US buy-out fund.
Advent International, which has previously held stakes in Poundland, Fat Face and mental health provider the Priory Group, offered £222m to take the firm private. The offer is a 69 per cent premium to yesterday's closing share price.
Brammer, which operates across 15 countries and employs over 2,500 people, was somewhat restrained when recommending the offer to shareholders. It called the approach "fair and reasonable".
Bill Whiteley, chairman of the board of Brammer, said "the offer represents an opportunity for Brammer Shareholders to realise value for their investment in cash at an attractive premium to the current share price".
Read more: Cost of sales leads Brammer to profit crash
Brammer shares nose-dived in the wake of the Brexit vote earlier this year, losing around two-thirds of their value in the final week of June.
While regaining some lost ground during the summer, shares tumbled again in October after the firm announced it would be scrapping its dividend and warned of pre-tax losses for 2016.
Against this backdrop, Whitely said: "The board of Brammer has evaluated the offer in the context of the strategic, operational and financial issues highlighted by the business review and the nature, extent and timescale of the actions needed to address these issues.
"Accordingly, the board is unanimously recommending the offer."