Mears concludes £27m takeover of Supporta

THE £27m takeover of homecare service provider Supporta looked certain to go ahead today after suitor Mears Group announced it had received the support of almost 95% of shareholders for its bid.

Mears (MER:LSE), which provides social housing maintenance and domiciliary care, made its move on the Bromsgrove-based company last year. It declared its offer for Supporta (SOR:LSE) wholly unconditional last month.

Mears announced yesterday that it had received valid acceptances from 94.6% of Supporta shareholders, enabling the takeover to go ahead. It can now buy-up the outstanding shares and notices will be sent out to the dissenting shareholders shortly.

A notice to cease trading in Supporta’s shares will be issued today and the cancellation is expected to be finalised by March 9.

Supporta’s directors have also tendered their resignations, which have been accepted by Mears and Supporta has appointed Mears chief executive Bob Holt and Andrew Smith as new directors with immediate effect.

Mears’ interest in the company is understandable as it is keen to extend its reach into the domiciliary care market, which is worth an estimated £3bn a year and expected to increase as Britain’s aged population rises.

In addition, Mr Holt is a former chairman of Supporta so he knows both the company and its market very well.

Prior to Christmas, Allied Healthcare International was also thought to be keen on Supporta but then it decided not to press ahead with any offer and terminated discussions with the firm.

This effectively left the field open for Mears and the deal was virtually sealed when the Supporta board recommended to shareholders that they accept the Mears offer.

Supporta Care, which employs more than 2,850 people, is one of the largest and most experienced providers of care at home in the country. It works with 52 local authorities and 18 PCTs around the country and provides care services to more than 3,500 users.