DBAY Advisors to buy Alliance Pharma in £349.7m deal

Under the terms of the acquisition, Alliance shareholders will receive 62.5p per share in cash. This is a 40.9% premium to the closing share price on Thursday.

DBAY is Alliance Pharma’s biggest shareholder, with a 27.9% stake.

Camillo Pane, non-executive chairman of Alliance, said: "Since IPO, Alliance has grown to become a globally diversified player in the consumer healthcare market. Alliance now has several leading brands across its priority categories and a global operating platform. Led by our CEO Nick Sedgwick, who joined in May 2024, management is developing a plan to return to consistent, profitable growth in our target markets.

"Whilst the board has confidence in Alliance's strategy and team, many of the planned initiatives are at a relatively early stage, retain an element of execution risk and will take time to deliver value. The board of Alliance believes that the offer from DBAY represents an attractive and certain value in cash today for our shareholders.

"DBAY is an experienced investor with a proven track record in supporting management teams to achieve their growth ambitions. Ownership of Alliance by DBAY will provide access to DBAY's operational expertise and significant additional capital to accelerate its strategy to grow through increased investment in new product innovation and development, M&A and expansion into new markets."

At 0945 GMT, the shares were up 38% at 61.12p.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The ranks of the AIM market will be further thinned as Alliance Pharma looks set to succumb to a bid from its largest investor.

"Alliance, which supplies over-the-counter drugs and has an international footprint, has had an up and down time as a public company and shareholders may welcome the opportunity to exit at a premium - even if the offer is some way below the shares’ 2022 peak.

"However, the departure of a profitable and well-established business is hardly good news for London’s challenged junior market."