Ashtead Technology (LON: AT), which rents and services subsea equipment for offshore energy, has agreed a recommended 615p-a-share cash takeover by US private equity firm Ember. The offer values the company at about £505m on a fully diluted basis, and the shares jumped in early trade.
The shares were at 607p in a delayed quote at about 8.02am, up 14.5% from yesterday’s 530p close. That is 8p, or 1.3%, below the offer price. They opened at 590p.
The announcement came at 7am today from Pine Acquisition UK Bidco, a vehicle indirectly owned by funds run by Ember, a New York firm founded in 2018 by former Global Infrastructure Partners investors. Ashtead’s directors unanimously intend to recommend the deal. Chairman Bill Shannon said:
The board believes that the Acquisition recognises the strength of the Ashtead Technology Group and provides shareholders with a compelling opportunity to realise significant value today when compared with the risk-adjusted return that would be expected to be delivered through the execution of Ashtead Technology’s standalone strategy.
Bill Shannon, Chairman, Ashtead Technology
The 615p price is 80.9% above the 340p close on the 22nd of September, the last day before the offer period began, and 59.3% above the three-month volume-weighted average price (the average weighted by shares traded) of 386.1p. The headline premium overstates today’s gain, because the shares jumped when Ember’s proposal went public on the 23rd of September. Against yesterday’s close the premium is about 16%.
The board says it engaged with Ember after four indicative proposals over three months, and 615p matches the earlier proposal. It cites Middle East project delays, US tariffs, an offshore wind slowdown and limited capacity for acquisitions under public-market leverage appetite. Sun Mountain Partners, which holds 1.43%, publicly urged the board on the 30th of September to reject the 615p proposal. That is far short of a blocking stake.
The deal is a court-approved scheme of arrangement, which needs 75% by value of shares voted at the court meeting. The scheme document is due within 28 days, and completion is expected between late in the fourth quarter and early in the first quarter of 2027. Directors’ irrevocable undertakings cover about 2.3% of shares.