Mission rejects 'opportunistic' Brave Bison approach

Brave Bison, a digital marketing agency, first approached AIM-listed rival Mission with a 29p per share offer early in May, before revising its offer. The current proposal values Mission shares at around 35.2p and the group at £32.3m.

But on Thursday Mission said that following a period of consultation with advisors and some shareholders, the board had unanimously rejected the revised offer.

It said the board believed the offer was "opportunistic and undervalues the group and its prospects".

"Moreover, it is dilutive to Mission’s shareholders as it does not reflect the relevant contributions of each part to the proposed combined group."

Under the terms of the deal, Mission shareholders would hold around 50% of the proposed combined group.

In addition, Mission said the revised proposal did not provide a "step change in scale, or any new offering or access to new markets", and that Brave Bison’s management had failed to set out a "compelling" strategy for the combined business.

As at 1115 BST, shares in Mission were down 3% at 27.04p, while Brave Bison was largely flat at 2.44p.

Brave Bison, which is backed by financier Michael Ashcroft, has yet to comment.