Interactive Investor said on Monday that it has agreed to acquire Share plc in a £62 million takeover deal.
Shares in Share plc (LON:SHRE), owner of The Share Centre, were trading over 17% higher on Monday after the announcement.
Interactive Investor will acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Share plc.
The deal means that Share plc shareholders will receive 4.1p in cash and 0.00084 of a new Interactive Investor share for every share they held in the other business.
In a statement, Interactive Investor said it believes that “direct to consumer platforms require scale to sustain the level of profitability necessary for significant and ongoing technology investment in customer experience and services”.
Interactive Investor said that the merger will create “a group of greater scale and capability to grow and thrive and to best serve its customers in an increasingly technology-driven and competitive environment”.
A company statement added that the two businesses share “common beliefs and values” to take the new takeover deal forward, and that there is “a strong strategic rationale” for the merger.
Share plc owns The Share Centre, which is an independent UK retail stockbroker based in Aylesbury. Meanwhile, its rival platform Interactive Investor is an online investment service in the UK.
“We are delighted with this transaction,” Richard Wilson, CEO of Interactive Investor, commented on the announcement.
“The firms’ shared values and combined strengths reinforce Interactive Investor’s position as a leader in the retail investment services marketplace. With our fair flat fees we have built a strong and compelling alternative to percentage fees, in a business that puts the customer first,” the CEO continued.
“Combining our individual strengths brings further scale and the opportunity to deliver enhanced value, service and customer experience to an enlarged customer base,” the CEO said.
Meanwhile, Gavin Oldham OBE, Executive Chairman of Share plc, also commented on the announcement: “I am delighted to welcome this combination of our businesses, designed to transform the prospects for individual share ownership and personal investment across the United Kingdom.”
“Our shareowners, employees and customers are well aware of my passion for egalitarian capitalism, not only right across society but also across generations. It delivers the economic freedom that comes from having a personal reserve of savings and investment, and a society at ease with itself: as owners, employees and consumers combine ownership with a responsibility for all,” the Executive Chairman continued.
Shares in Share plc (LON:SHRE) were up on Monday, trading at +17.24% as of 15:16 GMT.