Blue Prism shares jump as new suitor makes takeover offer
A new suitor has entered the race to snap up a British software company days before investors were due to vote on a £1.1bn offer.
A US tech business has swooped into contention for ownership of Blue Prism making a preliminary proposal at £12 per share which valued the company at £1.2bn and caused its share price to surge by ten per cent. SS&C, a financial technology company based in Connecticut, has thrown Vista’s £11.25-a-share offer into doubt with Blue Prism deciding to delay Friday’s vote on the deal.
Despite delaying the crucial vote the board is still recommending that shareholders accept Vista’s offer. “The directors of Blue Prism continue to believe that the Vista Offer is in the best interests of Blue Prism shareholders and are not withdrawing their recommendation of it at this stage,” the company said in a statement.
With the new suitor yet to make a firm proposal the board will use the extension to fully assess the new offer with the market authority expected to set a deadline for SS&Cs final offer in the coming days.
While Vista’s offer had been recommended by the board it is hotly contested by shareholders, with activist investor Coast Capital leading a group of shareholders who opposed the sale. Vista had previously said it planned to merge Blue Prism with a rival company, Tibco, resulting in hundreds of job losses for British employees.
Blue Prism makes equipment and software which automates repetitive tasks in the workplace. Shares are currently trading at £12.24, up by 9.29 per cent compared to the previous close.
Read more: Takeover of British tech firm Blue Prism under threat