Kewill agrees to private equity buy-out

Supply chain software company, Kewill, has agreed a takeover offer from private equity outfit Francisco partners.

The 96p a share cash offer values Kewill at around £89.5m, a 26.3% premium to the closing price of the shares on the day before the bid was announced.

So far the bid has the backing of 29.27% of shareholders.

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George Elliott, Chairman of Kewill, said: "Given the ongoing challenges faced by the business, including the meaningful contribution to operating profit from our reverse logistics business which we intend to exit, we firmly believe that this transaction is in the best interests of all Kewill stakeholders, including our shareholders, employees, customers and partners.

Kewill's shares rose 25% on the announcement to 95.15p, roughly in line with the bid price. Until today the firm was having a tough 12 months, having fallen 28% since last May.

BS