News blog

Straight

• BY: Andrew Hore |
• POSTED: 14/02/2014 |

Straight has received a bid approach from the owner of its main UK rival in the wheeled bins and recycling containers market.

Shares in Straight rose 15.5p to 62.5p, which values the bid target at £7.18m. Net debt was £2m at the end of June 2013 and the stated NAV was £8.58m - mostly accounted for by intangible assets.

Ireland-based investment company One51 has made a preliminary approach to Straight. One51 already owns MGB Plastics, which it claims is the UK’s leading manufacturer of wheeled bins and recycling containers.

One51 (www.one51.com) recently sold its stake in Aim-quoted waste services provider Augean for €9m. Prior to that net debt was €40m, which was less than half the level at the end of 2012 and represented the lowest level for more than six years, helped by investment disposals. One51 returned to profit in 2013 for the first time in six years. One51 closed its UK materials recycling business as part of the restructuring required to return the group to profitability.

One51 has agreed new banking facilities of €75m with Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Banks and Ulster Bank Ireland. The facilities last for four years until January 2018. There will be savings in interest charges. This suggests that One51 can finance a takeover of Straight.

In January, management stated that One51 would focus its “future development on its plastics and environmental services businesses”. The core operations are in Ireland, the UK and China.

Download the latest AIM Journal from http://wwww.hubinvest.com/AIMPDFFebruary2014_53.pdf