"Daisy set for £200m AIM move"

AWARD winning North West telecoms group Daisy Communications is in talks to float on the stock market in a £200m deal, according to reports.

Nelson-based Daisy, which provides corporate telecoms to small and medium-sized companies, plans to launch on the Alternative Investment Market at the same time as raising funds in a placing to give it the firepower for more acquisitions.

The company won the Bank of Scotland’s Entrepreneur Challenge in 2007. As part of the prize, chief executive Matthew Riley, won a £5m interest-free loan and mentoring from retail tycoon Sir Philip Green.

Reports in a national newspaper said Daisy is in talks to back into Freedom4 Group, the telecoms minnow previously known as Pipex. Also being injected into the business is Vialtus, Pipex’s former business telecoms arm.

The entire group is expected to be rebranded as Daisy, with Riley as chief executive. He will be left with roughly a 25% stake in the enlarged group and will take out up to £30m in cash.

It is understood that the company is already targeting the acquisition of a number of telecoms providers that have recently run into trouble. Daisy’s last deal was to strike a joint venture with Iceland Telecom’s UK arm.

Daisy was set up in 2001 by Mr Riley, a former salesman for Deutsche Telekom. Beginning with three employees, he spotted an opportunity to take advantage of the deregulation in the telecoms market.

Since then, he has pulled off 23 deals. Annual turnover of the enlarged group will be more than £100m.

Freedom4’s shares have been suspended since June 4, when it confirmed it was in talks over a reverse takeover.