Arlington Capital agrees £345.6mn take-private of Gooch & Housego

Arlington Capital Partners has agreed to acquire Gooch & Housego in a take-private transaction valued at £345.6mn, according to PE Hub. The offer prices the optical technology business at £12.35 a share and represents a 40.7 percent premium to Gooch & Housego’s closing share price of 874.0 pence on July 15, PE Hub reported.

The transaction would move Gooch & Housego from the public market into private ownership under Arlington Capital Partners, a private equity firm referred to in the report as ACP. In a take-private deal, the buyer offers cash or other consideration to public shareholders, and the company’s board sets out whether it supports the terms before investors vote or otherwise decide whether to accept the proposal.

Gooch & Housego’s directors intend to recommend unanimously that shareholders vote in favour of the offer, according to PE Hub. Board support does not by itself complete a transaction, but it is a central step in public-company acquisitions because shareholders must assess the proposed consideration against the company’s standalone prospects and prevailing market price.

PE Hub reported that ACP had made a series of unsolicited proposals to Gooch & Housego’s board before the latest offer. The agreed price indicates that the board and buyer have now reached terms they are prepared to put to shareholders, following those earlier approaches.

The premium is material for investors assessing the economics of the proposal. At £12.35 a share, the bid sits well above the July 15 closing price cited by PE Hub, giving shareholders an immediate valuation uplift against that reference point if the transaction proceeds on the stated terms.

No further details on financing, regulatory approvals, timetable or closing conditions were disclosed in the reported information. The outcome will depend on the required shareholder process and any other conditions attached to the agreed offer.

This story draws on original reporting from PE Hub.