Brave Bison has abandoned its revised £32 million takeover bid for fellow PLC Mission Group after coming up against a brick wall.
The owner of Social Chain, an acquisitive digital advertising and technology services company, said it was “disappointed by the lack of engagement from the Mission board”.
Last month Brave Bison made a conditional £26.4m approach for Mission – a collective of creative and MarTech agencies also listed on the AIM junior market in London – which it subsequently upped to £32m, consisting of 13.9 Brave Bison shares for each Mission share.
As part of the potential transaction, Brave Bison stated its intention to pay down a portion of Mission’s £26.8m of net debt to create a sustainable capital structure for the enlarged company.
This morning Brave Bison said it “does not believe that the Mission board’s strategy to deleverage the business will deliver value for Mission shareholders in excess of the proposal”.
“The Mission board, led by the chairman [David Morgan MBE], rejected Brave Bison’s attempts for constructive dialogue and chose not to provide access to due diligence information or key management personnel,” it added.
“Brave Bison is a disciplined acquirer and is not willing to advance the possible offer without due diligence or access to key management.”
Brave Bison’s offer would have seen Mission’s shareholders hold approximately 50% of the proposed combined group.
It did not rule out a further bid in the next six months if there is a change in circumstances or the agreement of the Mission board is received.
Mission’s share price has dropped from around 50 pence a year ago to below 24p today. Brave Bison’s offer saw the price briefly climb to 28p, but it has fallen again following news of the bid’s withdrawal. Its current market cap is around £21.5m.
Mission’s CEO is James Clifton (pictured).