Is there a second mystery bidder out there for Clinigen Group PLC (AIM:CLIN)? Based on the share price movement, the market is betting there is.
The group on Wednesday confirmed it agreed to be bought out by private equity firm Triton Investment Management in a deal that values the speciality pharma group at £1.2bn.
Triton is offering 883p a share in cash and will allow investors to receive the previously declared 5.46p final dividend. The shares, which closed below £6 on November 26, powered past the bid value to sit at 903.5p.
Okay, it’s a modest premium to the offer (and perhaps the maths might be wrong here), but in these circumstances, it is natural for the shares to trade at a small premium to the bid price.
The vagaries of the market aside, Peel Hunt thinks the Clinigen, which knocked market sentiment in early summer when it sounded the earnings alarm, has negotiated a decent exit price with Triton.
It represents a 15-times EBITDA multiple for the services business and 11-times for the products operation, the broker pointed out.
“Whilst we recognise that there is significant value to be had in the Clinigen portfolio/offering, the company has been beset by difficulties over the last couple of years; perhaps the private market is the best place for these issues to be addressed,” Peel Hunt concluded in a note to clients.
The current bid represents a 41% premium to the 625p Clinigen was trading at before bid interest was confirmed and a 49% premium over the average weighted price for the month to December 1.