Thalassa ends talks to dispose of WGP Group

Thalassa updated the market on its discussions to dispose of WGP Group on Thursday, saying it had received proposals from the interested third party, but they did not reflect the consideration that had been discussed during negotiations.

The AIM-traded firm said it was also conditional on certain contractual renewal events, over which WGP had “no control”.

It also said the interested party made a partial offer to invest in Autonomous Robotics, but that offer was conditional upon the acquisition of WGP.

The board said that, after “careful consideration”, it concluded that - notwithstanding complementary operational benefits for Autonomous Robots - the proposals did not provide Thalassa shareholders with sufficient value, and it had therefore terminated the discussions.

“The board is disappointed that the formal offers received differed significantly from the indicative terms previously discussed, specifically in relation to WGP,” said chairman Duncan Soukup.

“Whilst the proposals were, in the aggregate, similar to Thalassa's current market capitalisation, certain terms were subject to contractual conditions, which are outside of our control.”

Thalassa’s board said it remained mindful of the lack of liquidity in the company's shares and of the gap between the market value of those shares and the board's assessment of the “intrinsic value” of the company's assets.

It had therefore resolved to increase the share buyback programme announced on 27 January from £2m to £4m.

“Following receipt of the proposals and as an indication of its continued confidence in the prospects for the business, the board has resolved to increase the share buyback programme,” Soukup added.

“The board looks forward to shortly updating shareholders on what it anticipates will have been a successful six months ended 30 June 2017.”