Yet another UK tech firm looks set to be snatched from London’s markets by a US corporate.
The board of AIM-listed Sopheon announced today that its directors have reached an agreement in principle with US software and data firm Wellspring for a price of 1000p per share, valuing the firm at at approximately £114.9m.
The British software company said the cash offer represents a premium of roughly 104 per cent of the firm’s closing price of 490 pence per share on Monday.
The board said discussions relating to the possible offer “are well advanced” and that it “intends to unanimously recommend” the offer to Sopheon shareholders once the bid is formalised.
The board added that the offer “presents an attractive valuation” for the company and “a compelling liquidity opportunity not currently afforded by the public markets”.
Shares in Sopheon shot up following the news, closing up 87.76 per cent at 920p per share.
News of the bid comes after a slew of deals that have seen firms plucked from London’s markets over the past 18 months.
Most recently, AIM-listed life sciences software specialist Instem struck a £203m take-private deal with a US healthcare investor Archimed in August.
