Deadline extended as Equals in 'advanced' talks with suitors

Equals Group updated the market on its ongoing strategic review on Wednesday, confirming the ‘put up or shut up’ (PUSU) deadline regarding a possible all-cash offer for the company had been extended.

The AIM-traded firm announced on 10 July that it had received an improved indicative non-binding proposal from a consortium consisting of Embedded Finance (Railsr) and TowerBrook Capital Partners, offering 135p per share for Equals.

On 4 September, it was revealed that JC Flowers had joined the consortium, with discussions for a fully equity-financed bid in advanced stages.

The company said the consortium had now nearly completed its due diligence, adding that negotiations with Equals were at an advanced stage.

To allow more time for the discussions, Equals requested an extension of the PUSU deadline, originally set for 2 October.

The Takeover Panel granted the extension, pushing the deadline to 30 October.

By that date, the consortium would need to either announce a firm intention to make an offer under the Takeover Code, or declare that it did not intend to make an offer.

At 1232 BST, shares in Equals Group were down 1.75% at 112p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.