Tangent Shelves TMN Offer

In the UK, Tangent has pulled out of talks to acquire rival digital marketing company TMN, parent of research agencies ID Factor and ICD Research. Meanwhile newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror and private equity firms August Equity and 3i are all believed to have expressed an interest in buying the c.£40m business.

Tangent Communications decided yesterday not to proceed with its mid-March offer, which TMN had rejected on the grounds that it 'significantly undervalued' the company. Following Tangent's withdrawal, TMN announced that it is still in discussions with several parties over a potential offer for the firm. According to the Sunday Times, the list is thought to include publishing group Trinity Mirror.

At the same time, former Datamonitor boss Mike Danson has increased his shareholding in TMN to 16.3% from 12.5%, after buying 2.9 million shares for 55 pence each.

TMN said in a statement that the latest talks, which are progressing satisfactorily, remain at an early stage; and reiterated that there can be no certainty that an offer will be made for the group.

Web site: www.tmnplc.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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