- Brave Bison’s latest deal valued each Mission Group share at 35.1p
- The firm said Mission rejected its efforts to have a “constructive dialogue.”
Marketing firm Brave Bison has ended its pursuit of rival Mission Group following the rejection of its latest takeover bid.
The London-based company, which runs the Social Chain agency started by Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett, made a £32.3m share proposal for the Aim-listed company in late May after after its previous offer of £27 million was rejected.
Brave Bison’s most recent deal valued each Mission Group share at 35.1 pence, a 55 per cent premium to its share price on May 10 before the offer period.
TV personality: Marketing company Brave Bison runs agency Social Chain started by Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett (pictured)
It said it would use the acquisition to pay down some of Mission’s £26.8 million of net debt, possibly through an equity fundraising.
However, Mission said the proposal was “opportunistic”, undervalued the company and its future prospects and did not involve any “new offering or access to new markets”.
Brave Bison claimed that Mission rejected his efforts to have “constructive dialogue” and refused to give access to due diligence information or to senior management.
The company also noted that Mission did not extend the “put up or shut up” deadline beyond June 9, by which time it had to make a concrete offer or walk away.
Brave Bison said it was “disappointed by the lack of commitment from Mission’s board, whose business deleveraging strategy it does not believe will “deliver value for Mission shareholders above the revised proposal.”
‘Brave Bison is a disciplined acquirer and is not willing to advance the potential offering without due diligence or access to key management. As such, Brave Bison confirms that it has no intention of making a bid for Mission.
Founded in 2011 by serial tech entrepreneur Charlie Muirhead, Brave Bison provides digital advertising and technology services to brand advertisers.
The firm’s clients include the Professional Golfers Association Tour, Holland & Barrett, Google, Shell and Paramount Pictures.
Much of its growth has come through acquisitions, which have included media agency Social Chain, bought in February for at least £7.7m.
Social Chain collaborates with brands such as Amazon, Coca-Cola, Kentucky Fried Chicken, the BBC and Apple Beats to run advertising campaigns on social networks.
In its latest annual results, the company’s revenue rose 13 per cent to £35.7 million, while adjusted pre-tax profits rose 38 per cent to £3.6 million.
Brave Bison Group Stock They were steady at 2.45p on Monday morning and have risen around 13 per cent since the start of the year.