Alent(LSE: ALNT) has fallen prey to Platform Specialty Products Corp after the US group made a 503p per share cash offer for FTSE 250 chemicals company.
Platform Specialty is achemicals industry consolidation vehicle a cashshell, in other words which is going around acquiring undervalued businesses in the chemical industry, and rolling them into one group.
The industry consolidator is willing to pay a hefty premium for its targets. Todays offer forAlentis 49% aboveAlentsFriday closing price of 338p.Alentsshareholders will have the option to receive to receive shares in the new company in lieu of cash, up to 21.9% of the new entitys issued share capital.
And taking a portion of the offer in stock might be asensible decision forAlentsshareholders. Platform Specialty is well placed for long-term growth.
Cost saving synergies
As a standalone company, City analysts had expectedAlentto report earnings per share growth of around 10% per annum during 2016 and again in 2017. A combination of cost savings, revenue growth and margin expansion were expected to helpAlentto grow pre-tax profit by 44% during the next two years.
As part of the larger Platform Specialty group,Alentshould be able to achieve significant cost efficiencies, widening margins further. Platform reckons the combined group can achieve annual pre-tax cost synergies of at least $50m.
Whats more, Platformalready ownsMacDermid Inc., a specialty chemicals company that is a direct competitor ofAlentsUS-based Enthonedivision that produces coatings formobile phones and cars.
So, theres more to this deal than just simple cost-saving synergies. Platform Specialty is removing a key competitor from the market and increasing production simultaneously. However, as the deal will create a company that has a certain amount of control over key markets, it will require antitrust approval.
Rapid growth
Platform Specialtys strategy is to buy companies that areleaders in niche businesses and require little capital investment. These companies usually generate a large amount of cash, which can be used for futurebolt-on acquisitions to further boost growth.
Indeed, over the past 12 months Platform Specialty has been on an acquisition spree, rolling up several smaller peers into its group structure.
This bolt-on strategy is set to achieve results. According to Wall Street analysts, before todays announcement Platform Specialtys earnings per share were on track to jump 83% during 2016 and 24% during 2017. The acquisition of Alent should only boost this growth.
Using Wall Street estimates, Platform Specialtys shares that trade on the New York Stock Exchange are currently trading at a 2017 P/E of 11.7.
The bottom line
All in all, Platform Specialtys offer to buyAlent looks to bea great deal for shareholders. Shareholders are receiving a hefty premium for their shares, and the enlarged Platform Specialty will be well placed to generate rapid growth in the short-term as synergies flow through, and the company dominates key markets.
But if Platform Specialty is not for you, or you’re concerned about investing overseas, The Motley Fool’s top analysts have recently identified a company that they consider to be one of the market’s“top small caps”.
Our analysts reckon that the shares of this company could have a potential upside of 45%! And the company in questionhas a strong cash balance, provenadvantageand is supported by some of the biggest players in its industry.
All is revealed inour new free reportentitled“Is This Stock Tomorrow’s Big Winner?”
Don’t delay, download thefree report today— but hurry, it’s only available for a limited time.
Rupert Hargreaves has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.