Franchise Brands buys Filta in £50m all-share deal

(Sharecast News) - Franchise Brands has agreed to buy Filta Group for almost £50m to add commercial kitchen fryer management to its list of services.

Filta's board has accepted an all share offer that values the company's shares at 170.7p each - 7/7% more than the closing price on before the deal was announced. The price is 23.8% more than Filta's average share price over the preceding three months.

The deal values AIM-listed Filta's share capital at £49.8m and the enlarged Franchise Brands group at about £191.2m. The companies said the all-share offer would allow Filta investors to benefit from the combined group's growth prospects.

Shares of Filta fel 1% to 157p at 08:46 GMT. Franchise Brands shares fell 4.1% to 141.4p.

Filta's core business is servicing fryers in commercial kitchens in North America, the UK and Europe. The company said it has struggled to grow in the UK and that joining Franchise Brands would help it do so. Franchise Brands said Filta would complement its commercial drainage and pumps businesses.

Stephen Hemsley, Franchise Brands's executive chairman, said: "As we operate in similar markets to Filta, we know the business well, so we are delighted that Filta will be joining Franchise Brands. Bringing the businesses together will enable us to offer a broader range of complementary services to our combined customer base."