Upholstered furniture retailer ScS Group PLC has agreed a £99.4m bid approach from Italian furniture retailer Poltronesofà SpA.
The offer values each ScS share at 280p, consisting of 270p per share cash and a 10p final dividend.
Alan Smith, non-executive chair of ScS, said: “This cash offer, which the ScS board unanimously recommends, comes at an attractive valuation.
“It recognises the quality of the ScS Group’s operations, its cash resources, and the progress accomplished under Steve Carson’s leadership via his refreshed strategy.”
Poltronesofà has 167 stores in Italy, 106 stores in France and 27 further stores across Europe (15 in Belgium, nine in Switzerland, two in Cyprus and one in Malta).
It said the deal follows a decision to continue its geographic growth and enter the UK sofa market. “Having followed the UK market and its key players for a significant amount of time, Poltronesofà believes that ScS and Poltronesofà share many common values and principles.
“Poltronesofà admires ScS’s significant presence in the United Kingdom sofa and furniture market, as well as its strong brand position, and recognises that ScS is a strong business with a widespread and established base of 100 well-located and spacious showrooms in the United Kingdom.
“Moreover, ScS benefits from, a well-invested and growing digital e-commerce platform, industry-leading operational excellence, and resilient financial performance.”
Commenting on the Acquisition, Mr. Renzo Ricci, Chief Executive Officer of Poltronesofà, said: “As the next step of Poltronesofà’s pan-European expansion, the Acquisition represents the best opportunity for Poltronesofà to enter the United Kingdom market of upholstery products.
“Poltronesofà believes it is strategically very well placed to support ScS in the next stage of its development, and by building on the combined industry knowledge and experience and providing the necessary capital to accelerate ScS’s ambitions, the Acquisition will help ScS realise its full growth potential.”
Alan Smith, Non-Executive Chair of ScS, said: “Poltronesofà, based in Italy, is a pan-European sofa retailer that has been successfully pursuing international expansion and ScS, with UK operations, is the next juncture of that strategy.
“The ScS Board believes Poltronesofà will bring significant benefits to ScS through its broad industry expertise in addition to providing the necessary capital that would accelerate our current strategy, albeit in a private rather than public sphere.
“The Acquisition will enable ScS to continue as part of a broader, pan-European entity in pursuit of its strategy and position it for long-term success in the UK.”
