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AT Communications/Daisy Group

  • BY: Andrew Hore |
  • POSTED: 04/08/2009 |

Administrator Grant Thornton has sold the trading assets of AT Communications to Daisy Group.

Daisy, which was previously known as Freedom4, is paying £7m in cash and issuing 1.17m warrants exercisable at 85.5p a share – the current share price is 90p, up 3p on the day. That is less than AT’s estimated net debt after the disposal of Rocom. The £3.62m warranty claim from Rocom’s purchaser makes it even less likely that shareholders will get anything. Let’s face it, it was never likely that AT shareholders would get anything after the company went into administration.

The AT operations generated unaudited revenues of £19.9m in the six months to June 2009. The operating loss before amortisation was £3.5m.

Lancashire-based Daisy has been trading since 2001 and it offers fixed and mobile voice and data services, broadband, anti-virus and other services to its customer base of 30,000 small and medium sized businesses. Institutional investors obviously see Daisy chief executive Matthew Riley as the telecoms services consolidator to back.

In July 2009, Daisy reversed into Freedom4 for £81m in cash and shares at 80p each. There was a 20-for-one share consolidation as part of the reverse takeover. At the same time Vialtus, which provides managed hosting to small businesses, was bought for £42m in cash and shares at the same price. Daisy raised £83m at 80p a share - £79.7m was left after expenses.

After paying the £45.8m cash consideration for the two acquisitions, the company has pro forma net cash of £31.5m. That gives it plenty of cash to go out and buy more businesses.

Daisy has also acquired the trading assets of telecoms and IT supplier Eurotel for £13.5m in cash and 585,000 warrants exercisable at 85.5p a share. Like AT, Eurotel was put into administration on 3 August. 

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