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(Alliance News) - Amigo Holdings PLC on Wednesday said a suitor is preparing to announce a takeover offer, though the guarantor lender's controlling shareholder is yet to say whether it will back the bid.
Amigo, which put itself up for sale back in January, said the unnamed potential acquirer has completed due diligence and intends to offer 20.9 pence for each share of the company,
The offer values Amigo at roughly GBP99.3 million. Its shares were 8.0% lower at 20.61p each in London on Wednesday afternoon, giving it a market capitalisation of GBP98.0 million.
The offer is subject to the approval from Richmond Group Ltd, however. James Benamor, Amigo's founder who up until March sat on the company's board, is Richmond's chief executive officer.
Amigo explained: "Despite attempts to discuss the potential offer with Richmond Group, Amigo has been unable to engage constructively and ascertain Richmond Group's willingness or not to accept the potential offer. Richmond Group has requested that Amigo publicly disclose the status of the formal sales process such that it can be cleansed of inside information relating to the formal sales process.
"There can be no certainty that any offer will be forthcoming. The board of directors of Amigo recommends that minority shareholders take no action at this time until Richmond Group has confirmed its intentions regarding the potential offer."
Back in April, Amigo said its majority owner called for a shareholder meeting to remove the subprime lender's entire board.
Benamor, who owns about 60% of Amigo, hit out at the firm on social media in March, saying the company is "committing slow motion suicide". His recently-ended stint on Amigo's board began last December, after he first left Amigo's board in September 2018.
In March, Amigo halted all new lending to all but key workers due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It did add however, that since April 1, cash collection "has remained strong".
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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