EMIS trades in line as its takeover heads to the CMA

The AIM-traded firm said it performed “strongly” in the year ended 31 December, with both revenue and adjusted operating profit in line with the board’s expectations.

It added that it maintained its “market leadership positions” through the year.

“The group has maintained a robust balance sheet, with net cash of £45.9m as at 31 December,” the company’s directors said.

Looking at the takeover, on 17 June last year, EMIS and Bordeaux UK Holdings II - an affiliate of Optum UK and a wholly-owned subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group - announced that they agreed the terms of a recommended all-cash offer for EMIS.

The acquisition was being implemented via a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement.

On 9 August, EMIS said all resolutions were approved by majorities at the court meeting to consider the scheme, and the general meeting to consider the special resolution relating to the acquisition.

A notification was made and accepted under the NS&I Act, and the secretary of state confirmed that no further action would be taken in relation to the acquisition.

As for the remaining regulatory condition for the acquisition, on 1 November EMIS announced that it was in the process of finalising a merger notice with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

“The CMA has now confirmed that the merger notice meets the applicable requirements under the Enterprise Act, and that the phase one investigation period will commence on 23 January,” the board said on Friday.

As a result, EMIS said it now expected the scheme to become effective and the acquisition to complete late in the first quarter, or early in the second.

At 0924 GMT, shares in EMIS Group were down 0.21% at 1,868p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.