Ideagen notes takeover interest from Astorg and Hg as Cinven bows out

5th May 2022 10:06

(Sharecast News) - AIM-listed Ideagen said on Thursday that it had received takeover interest from other parties after Cinven said it had decided not to make an offer for the group.

Cinven announced in April that it was in the early stages of considering an offer for Ideagen, which provides compliance software. However, the private equity firm put out a brief statement earlier saying that it was not intending to make an offer.

Ideagen said it has now received proposals regarding cash offers for the company from private equity firms Astorg and Hg.

Under takeover rules, both parties have until 1700 BST on 2 June to either announce a firm intention to make an offer or walk away.

"There can be no certainty that a firm offer will be made, nor as to the terms of any such offer," Ideagen said, adding that further announcements will be made in due course as appropriate.

At 100 BST, the shares were up 8.8% at 236p.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "After enjoying a slow but steady rise in its share price for many years, the sell-off in tech stocks since last November has caused the worst run for Ideagen's share price since it joined the AIM market 10 years ago.

"That no doubt attracted the attention of private equity players eager to do deals, hence why Cinven made a move in April and now we've got two more approaches from Astorg and Hg."