Yahoo Finance Bidders circle Edinburgh-based lab-testing specialist Exova
Three bidders are circling Exova, the lab-testing specialist’s board has confirmed.
Element Materials Technology, Jacobs Holding and PAI Partners SAS have each put forward an offer, and talks with all three are taking place.
Potential buyers have had their eyes on the Edinburgh-based business, which conducts safety and quality compliance tests, since it failed to take off on the public market after a flotation in 2014.
Exova’s share price has climbed 39pc over the past 12 months to its original listing price of £2.20, giving it a market cap of £548.26m, amid speculation that the FTSE 250 company would be put up for sale by its majority shareholder, the US private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R).
The company has struggled amid the collapse in commodities. At the end of 2014, 17pc of its business came from the oil and gas sector, which now accounts for 9pc of sales. Exova grew pre-tax profits by 7.7pc to £43.5m in 2016, as sales rose 10.8pc.
