It has long been touch and go whether Vistec Group Plc would make a big enough acquisition to render itself bidproof for a few years, or itself be acquired first, and yesterday came the answer: the Belper, Derbyshire networking, maintenance and hardware and software distribution company is going to Oxford-based Lynx Holdings Plc, a company less than half its size in turnover terms. It is recommending that shareholders accept a share exchange offer worth an indicated 17.8 pence per share, a premium of about 15% on Friday’s close. The deal is one new Lynx for very 2.914 Vistec held, plus a special interim dividend of 0.25 a share. Irrevocable acceptances have been received for under 25%, so a counter-offer is possible. The combined company would have annual turnover of over #75m. Lynx has automotive, financial, pensions and communications software operations, and it is a value-added reseller of Unix systems.
