UBM shares soar as Informa make further merger offer

UBM (LON:UBM) and Informa (LON:INF) moved further towards a possible takeover on Wednesday, confirming the announcement of a new proposed combination share and cash offer by Informa for the entire share capital of UBM.

In a statement released early on Wednesday, following on from a starting offer made on Tuesday, Informa offered 1083 Informa shares and 163 pence in cash for each UBM share.

Based on January 15th closing prices for both Informa and UBM, this represents a 30 percent premium. The groups said in the statement that discussions regarding other aspects of the merger remain ongoing and the deal is subject to the final approval of the boards of both companies.

Shares in UBM climbed earlier in the week on news of merger talks, which will help Informa gain a further foothold in the events industry in which it has sought to expand. UBM’s strong presence in Asia will also offer Informa inroads into the region. The combined group would strongly boost Informa’s presence in the exhibition sector, making it larger than its largest competitor Relx.

UBM shares soared on the news on Wednesday morning, currently trading up 12.91 percent at 888.0. Informa shares sunk, however, trading down 7.97 percent at 687.80 (0935GMT).