|
Mitie Group PLC on Tuesday said it has accepted a £3.1 billion takeover offer from UK peer OCS Group as it reported a ‘good’ start to the financial year. London-based outsourcing and facilities management firm Mitie said the cash bid from OCS Group Topco Ltd values each Mitie share at 221.6 pence. This comprises cash of 218.5p per share and a Mitie final dividend of up to 3.1p for the financial year that ended March 31. If the dividend is paid in full, the deal values Mitie about £3.1 billion. Shares in Mitie soared 39% in response to 209.40p each in London on Tuesday morning, an all-time high. That gives the company a market capitalisation of £2.73 billion. The Mitie board unanimously recommended the offer to shareholders. Chair Chris Rogers said: ‘The board believes OCS’s offer recognises the strength of the business, the progress achieved in recent years and the opportunities ahead.’ Because of the takeover bid, Mitie immediately suspended its £100 million share buyback programme, launched last October. It has repurchased 49 million shares for £81 million in total since then. OCS also is a London-based outsourcer, providing cleaning, security and maintenance services. It said it has acceptances for its offer from Mitie board members for 1.2% of Mitie shares. A potential further 9.9% stake has been committed by Oasis Management Co Ltd for the swaps that Oasis holds over Mitie shares. It is intended that the deal, which is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2027, will be implemented by way of a Scottish court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement. Mitie also released a trading update for the three months ended June 30, reporting a ‘good’ start to the financial year. Revenue increased 10% to £1.41 billion from £1.28 billion a year before, ‘including 4% organic growth driven by new wins, projects growth and pricing,’ the firm said. Business Services revenue jumped 23% in the quarter from a year ago, but Technical Services sales were down 5%. Mitie said it has made a ‘fast start’ to integrating Marlowe. Contract wins and extensions or renewals totalled £1.6 billion, up 33% on-year from £1.2 billion. In addition, Mitie highlighted a ‘record’ £32.5 billion bidding pipeline as of June 30, up from £31.7 billion the year prior. ‘I am pleased we have made a good start to the year, maintaining double-digit growth despite the impact of contract losses last year,’ said Chief Executive Phil Bentley. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
|
