Yahoo Finance Media takeover plan Gloo comes unstuck
Gloo Networks, a listed takeover vehicle that aimed to buy up and turn around struggling print media brands, has given up after failing to seal a deal in almost three years.
The company, backed by Marwyn, the private equity fund that made a strong return on Peppa Pig maker Entertainment One, said it would hand back the remainder of the money it raised and enter liquidation.
Gloo, led by former magazine executive Rebecca Miskin, attracted investment from institutions including Standard Life and Invesco. It initially raised £30m on Aim to pay for due diligence on takeover targets but had support from shareholders to seek deals worth up to £1bn.
Hopes were further raised when appointed a big name chairman, Vivendi chief executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine, who had worked with Ms Miskin at Hearst, the magazine publisher behind Cosmopolitan.
Today Mr de Puyfontaine said that after in-depth discussions with 11 targets "given the likely timeframe to a possible acquisition, the board concluded that shareholders would be best served through the return of Gloo's remaining capital".
Shareholders are in line to get back no 47p per share, compared with their original investment at 120p. The shares had slumped to around 35p after Gloo said in March that a planned reverse takeover would not go ahead.
Gloo's decision to represents a quick result for the activist investor Crystal Amber, which disclosed a stake last month and called for remaining cash to be returned.
Richard Bernstein, leader of Crystal Amber, said this morning: "I think that this the right decision. It’s good to see a board accept that its efforts didn’t yield results and to take on board the views of independent shareholders.”
Gloo had hoped to capitalise on the struggles of print magazine and newspapers by buying famous brands at bargain prices and bolting new digital businesses to them.
