Alliance Pharma’s deal is the latest of a series of takeovers by private equity and other firms that … [+]
The London Stock Exchange is set to lose another listing after Alliance Pharma agreed to be acquired in an all-cash deal that values the company at £349.7 million ($427 million).
The company’s board said Friday that it intends to unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favor of the acquisition by DBAY Advisors and Edmond de Rothschild’s ERES IV fund.
The terms of the deal would see Alliance’s shareholders receive 62.5 pence for each share held, a 41% premium to the company’s closing price of 44.35 pence on Thursday.
Alliance, which has been listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) since 2003, markets and distributes consumer healthcare and prescription products in more than 100 countries. It employs about 285 people in offices across Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific.
The company has been undergoing a strategic review of its operations since Nick Sedgwick replaced Peter Butterfield as its CEO in May 2024.
Alliance’s board said that it believes in the long-term prospects of the company, but it also recognizes that delivering its new strategic plan will take significant time and investment. Furthermore, a number of uncertainties exist around the plan’s delivery, some of which are beyond its control.
DBAY said Friday that it supports Alliance’s leadership team, but it wants the company to implement a range of initiatives in tandem with new investments and acquisitions.
“It has become apparent to DBAY that Alliance needs time away from the public market to allow it to fully deliver these initiatives in a reasonable timeframe,” the asset manager said.
The deal is the latest of a series of takeovers by private equity and other firms that are shrinking the U.K.’s stock market.
In 2024, one in 20 of all U.K.-listed companies was publicly put under offer, according to Peel Hunt. The investment bank said companies listed on London’s AIM are particularly at risk of takeovers due to due to a lack of liquidity, depressed valuations and reduced ability to utilize the capital markets.
DBAY began acquiring Alliance shares in December 2022. The investment firm, which is based in the Isle of Man, already holds a 28% stake in the healthcare company. It was founded in 2011 by Alex Paiusco and Saki Riffner.
DBAY’s partner in the deal is Edmond de Rothschild, the Geneva-based private bank and asset manager run by Ariane de Rothschild. Founded in 1953, the firm said it had more than $177 billion in assets under management at the end of 2023.