The struggling consumer healthcare company Alliance Pharma appears poised to exit London’s junior stock exchange following a £350 million takeover bid from activist investor Dbay Advisors. The Isle of Man-based investment firm, which holds the position of Alliance’s largest shareholder, has secured board recommendation for its 62.5p per share offer.
The proposed deal represents a significant 40.9 per cent premium to Alliance’s closing price before the announcement and marks a 20.2 per cent increase from Dbay’s initial unsolicited approach in May. City analysts have expressed confidence in the likelihood of the takeover reaching completion, though the offer stands at approximately half the trading value witnessed in April 2022.
Recent years have proven challenging for Alliance, with its key Kelo-Cote scar treatment facing Covid-related disruptions in China and its US expansion struggling to gain traction. The company’s menopause product Amberen has notably lost market share, whilst an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority, though successfully challenged, cast a shadow over operations.
Dbay, which began accumulating shares in Alliance during 2022, has positioned the takeover as a strategic move to enhance the company’s buy-and-build acquisition strategy. Alexander Paiusco, managing director of Dbay, emphasised that Alliance’s future prospects would be better served away from public markets, with the deal structure including a “rollover” option for shareholders to maintain stakes in the privatised entity.
The exodus from London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) continues, with Alliance potentially joining a growing list of departures. AIM’s listed companies have decreased dramatically from nearly 1,700 in 2007 to 688 in November, raising questions about the junior market’s long-term viability amidst recent government reforms.
Panmure Liberum analysts suggest the deal’s completion is likely, noting that while the offer price isn’t exceptionally low, it lacks a substantial control premium. The presence of Dbay’s significant blocking stake, combined with Alliance’s ongoing operational challenges, makes the emergence of competing bids unlikely.
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