LONDON: AFH Financial Group (LON: AFHP) announced that the Financial Conduct Authority has, on 18 May 2021, approved the proposed acquisition of AFH by Cortina Bidco Limited (Bidco), a newly incorporated company indirectly controlled by funds managed by Flexpoint Ford, LLC, pursuant to the recommended cash acquisition by Cortina Bidco Limited of AFH.
The Acquisition and Scheme, which were approved by AFH Shareholders on 26 March 2021, remain subject to the sanction of the High Court. It is expected that Completion of the Acquisition will occur as soon as practicable following such sanction. A further announcement will be made when the date of the High Court Hearing to sanction the Scheme has been confirmed.
Cortina Bidco, a newly incorporated US firm parented by Flexpoint Ford, has increased its offer for AFH Financial Group after a previous offer failed to gain the 75% shareholder backing.
The initial bid was at a price of £225m, which has now been increased to £231.6m, valuing each share at 480 pence.
AFH’s directors plan to unanimously recommend a favourable vote for the transaction to their shareholders for a second time. AFH, which has £6.2bn in funds under management, aims to counter what it sees as drawbacks in terms of growth from its 2014 initial public offering, relative to its privately-owned competitors “which have been able to scale their businesses, both organically and through M&A, at a faster pace”.
John Wheatley, chairman of AFH, said Flexpoint and Bidco would be “excellent partners” and the deal was “in the best interests of all stakeholders of the group”, speaking at the time of the initial offer.
AFH Financial Group Plc (LON: AFHP) share price
475.00 GBX 0.00 (0.00%)
18 May, 4:32 pm GMT+1 · Disclaimer