Numis reiterates 'add' on RPC after deal to buy British Polythene Industries

RPC Group’s ‘add’ rating and target price of 900p were reiterated by Numis after the plastics firm said it had agreed a £261m deal to buy British Polythene Industries (BPI).

RPC said it was launching a £90m share placing to part fund the acquisition. The company will pay BPI shareholders 470p a share in cash and 0.60141 of new RPC shares.

The offer is worth around 940p per British Polythene share, a 30% premium to the stock's closing price of 725.00p per share on Wednesday, RPC said.

“Strategically, the transaction provides a platform for the Group in the polythene films market, enhances polymer purchasing power and is in line with its Vision2020 growth strategy,” Numis analyst Kevin Fogarty said.

“The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings per share in fiscal year 2017 and materially accretive thereafter and we will look to revise our forecasts for the Group following today's analyst presentation.”

Shares rose 3.92% to 847.50p at 1009 BST.