Riley to take Daisy private in £494m deal
MATTHEW Riley has made a cash offer for the Daisy Group, the Lancashire telecoms business, that values it at £494m.
The proposed take-private has been agreed by all the firm’s major shareholders, representing 93% of the shares.
Daisy floated at 80p a share in July 2009 through the reverse takeover of Freedom4 Group and Vialtus.
Mr Riley, the Nelson group’s chief executive, has been mulling a bid since late July as part of a consortium with Toscafund Asset Management and Penta Capital.
They initially suggested a price of 190p a share, but this morning confirmed an offer of 185p, 16% higher than 159p, the value on the last day of trading before the consortium’s first approach.
Entities advised by Toscafund hold 28.5% of Daisy, while Mr Riley has 23%. Four funds which hold a further 40% have also given undertakings to accept the offer.
The deal is being part-funded by a £265m loan agreed with a syndicate of banks including HSBC, Lloyds, ING Bank. There is also a £130m payment-in-kind loan from Ares Capital. PIK loans are usually an expensive form of finance that do not allow for any repayment until they mature.
Daisy chairman Peter Dubens said: “I would like to thank Matthew Riley and the management team of Daisy for their skill and hard work in implementing an acquisition-led strategy which has delivered shareholders 185p per Daisy share compared to the placing price in the 2009 reverse takeover of 80p per Daisy Share, an increase of 131.3%. When compared with the increase in the FTSE AIM All Share index of 27.5%. since admission, I believe that this represents a good outcome for all Daisy dhareholders.”
Mr Riley said: “The company has enjoyed loyal support from its shareholders over the five years it has been quoted on AIM. The offer provides Daisy Shareholders with a cash premium today and represents a positive development for our 59,000 customers and continuity for our 1,500 employees; it also positions the company for its next phase of growth in the UK telecoms and IT sector, with the backing and strategic and financial guidance of Toscafund and Penta.”
