News blog

Datong

• BY: Andrew Hore |
• POSTED: 10/05/2013 |

Surveillance technology developer Datong has agreed a 50p a share cash bid from Seven Technologies.

The bid values Datong at £6.92m. Northern Ireland-based Seven Technologies is a supplier of ruggedised computers and systems and its revenues were £9.2m in the year to May 2012.Seven Technologies bought homeland security technology firm Ultrafine in 2011 and this adds a further £1.2m to revenues. Datong’s revenues declined from £11.8m to £9.69m in the year to September 2012 and it had £2.48m in the bank. A UK contract with £7.5m over two years was won at the end of 2012.

A combination of the businesses should make the enlarged group less seasonal than Datong on its own and it will also be able to bid for larger contracts.

Seven Technologies has acceptances totalling 61.5%. 

Fund manager YFM is helping to finance the cash bid. In April 2012, YFM invested £6.6m in the management buyout of Seven Technologies. 

Net of cash, it appears that Datong is being acquired for around £4.5m.

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