(Alliance News) - Cenkos Securities PLC and finnCap Group PLC have agreed on an all-share merger that will see each set of shareholders equally own the combined company and the existing chief executives becoming co-CEOs, they said on Thursday.
The announcement confirmed a Sky News report earlier Thursday.
Cenkos and finnCap shareholders each will own about half of the enlarged company. Cenkos shareholders will receive 3.19 finnCap shares for each Cenkos share, valued at 37.13 pence per share. This gives an equal value to each company of GBP21.1 million.
Cenkos shares were up 3.6% to 40.40 pence early Thursday in London, giving the company a GBP22.9 million market capitalisation. finnCap shares were up 1.1% to 11.75p, giving a GBP21.3 million market value.
Cenkos shareholders still will receive the 0.5 pence cash dividend declared earlier this month, plus a 3p interim dividend to be declared after June 30.
Support for the deal has been received from shareholders representing 33% of Cenkos shares and 51% of finnCap shares.
The combined group will have more than 210 clients and 230 staff. It will be led by the existing chief executives of Cenkos and finnCap - Julian Morse and John Farrugia, respectively, as co-CEOs and by Cenkos Chair Lisa Gordon.
Cenkos and finnCap said they expect to achieve significant cost savings from the combination and also see new revenue opportunities from their combined client list.
"This proactive and mutually-beneficial merger creates a champion for growth and investment companies, both UK-quoted and private entrepreneurial businesses, that are the backbone of our economy," Gordon said. "The two firms' cultures are very similar, and our client lists and capabilities are complementary. This is good for our clients, our employees, our investors and the UK capital markets as a whole."
By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor
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