Pearson, the owner of Investors Chronicle, made an all-cash bid for Melorio on Wednesday, valuing the training provider at £88m and providing the opportunity for a tidy 50 per cent profit for readers that followed our buy tip (.
The 225p a share deal is a 31.2 per cent premium to Melorio's closing share price on 17 May, the last business day prior to the commencement of the offer period, and has been recommended by management to shareholders. So far Pearson has received irrevocable undertakings from approximately 49.9 per cent of investors.
Interestingly, the deal was announced the same day as Melorio's full-year results, which forecast 2011 adjusted profits up 25 per cent. "I personally would have liked to get a better price, nearer 250p," chairman Hugh Aldous told Investors Chronicle. "But you put things before people and let them make their own decisions."
