Second suitor emerges for KCOM
A fight has erupted for KCOM after a second suitor tabled an offer for the telco specialist putting the brakes on a deal that had emerged back in April.
It had been looking as if the firm had accepted a £504m offer from Humber Bidco Limited a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited, with a final decision on whether or not to accept it just a few days away.
But a last minute offer from MEIF 6 Fibre has now been trumped the first offer, raising the stakes with a £563m takeover bid.
MEIF 6 Fibre is owned by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, with the KCOM board backing the latest offer and revising their initial support for the first deal.
"The Board of KCOM is pleased to recommend MEIF 6 Fibre's cash offer for KCOM which represents an increase of 11 pence to the USS Offer of 97 pence per KCOM Share and a 49 per cent premium to the undisturbed share price on 23 April 2019. This offer provides our shareholders with even greater value in cash for their shares, as well as providing KCOM with a strong partner as we work to maintain, build and enhance our offering and position," said Patrick De Smedt, interim non-executive chairman of KCOM.
Commenting on the acquisition, Leigh Harrison, head of MIRA EMEA, said that it had a background in the industry and saw potential in the business.
"We are pleased that the KCOM Board is recommending our takeover offer. KCOM has a strong local heritage that has been developed over more than a century and is well-positioned to continue to meet the evolving telecommunications needs of the region, which is why we have made this compelling offer to shareholders at an attractive premium," he said.
"As an experienced, long-term telecommunications investor, we are committed to supporting KCOM's sustainable growth. We look forward to partnering with management to increase broadband take-up in its core region and beyond, enhancing the quality of service delivery while giving local businesses and residents greater access to the opportunities that high-speed broadband can provide," he added.
KCOM issued a profit warning last year and turned to former BT executive Sutherland to help change its fortunes after sharing a half year update issued back in November showing that revenues were down and pre-tax profits had also declined by 4% year-on-year.
The firm provides voice and data services to 140,000 customers in Hull and East Yorkshire, has a public sector and large enterprise customer lost across and through its national network services provides UK wide connectivity support.
source computerweekly
Industry: Unified Communications
Latest Jobs
-
- IAM Consultant
- France
- Upto €85000 plus benefits
-
An Identity & Access Management Consultant is needed for an expanding IT Security consultancy, based in France. (Remote role with monthly office meet-ups) The Identity & Access Management Consultant will be responsible for the technical design and implementation of Identity & Access Management/IAM products for a wide variety of clients. Deliver bespoke end-to-end consultancy service to our clients, from gathering requirements through to implementation. Work in a close team designing, developing, and implementing first-class IAM solutions. Manage client relationships, working closely with key stakeholders to continually evaluate business requirements and ensure the highest quality solution delivery. If you are interested we are looking for an individual with Previous experience working within the IAM or CIAM field is essential, Strong knowledge with SAML and Oauth and ideally OpenID Previous experience from any of these technologies: One Identity, SailPoint, Saviynt, Ubisecure, Ping Identity, would be advantageous
-
- Ping Identity Support Consultant- IAM Support
- Madrid
- upto €60,000 plus benefits
-
As the Ping Support specialist, you would be part of a team focused on Single Sign On (SSO) / Federation and Multifactor authentication, protecting our clients from unauthorized access and cyberattacks. The position is to provide 2nd/ 3rd line support, for the following tech. SSO, Federation, Reverse Proxy infrastructure, Apache servers, and its associated components and applications To be responsible for the day to day operational support, performance, tactical lifecycle management, and continuous improvement of the respective IT infrastructure. We are looking for someone with strong SAML and OAuth Knowledge as well as experience supporting the Ping portfolio of solutions Identity, Access, Federate
-
- IAM Architect Ping Identity, Access Federate
- Stuttgart
- Up to €110,000 plus benefits
-
An experienced Ping Identity Architect is needed for this global brand who are looking for someone who wants to join a growing Cyber Security team. We are looking for a senior Architect who can be responsible for the full IAM portfolio, including overseeing all BAU work as well as being responsible for the future strategy and development of the IAM portfolio further development and strategy You will be responsible for ensuring all architectures and best practices within the architecture framework are maintained and developed We are looking for someone with a strong Ping background, in Ping identity, federate, and Access, you will have worked as a senior consultant or architect in previous roles and ideally have some team-leading experience You will have good knowledge of architectural principles and patterns and their implementation into system and software design Experience in handling container technologies, cloud technologies, CI/CD (DevOps) and LDAP
-
- Security Engineer Contract £600 pd Outside IR35- SIEM, Vulnerability Management, DevSecOps
- United Kingdom
- £600 pd Outside IR35
-
Security Engineer Contract £600 pd Outside IR35 SIEM, Vulnerability Management, DevSecOps 6 month Contract Hybrid – some travel to London Google Chronicle – SIEM Crowdstike Spotlight – Vulnerability Management Google Cloud Platform - GCP Application security Core areas; Oversight of alerts with any improvement, fine tuning, enriching / use cases. Proactive vulnerability management – Prioritising and engaging with internal teams to remediate Advising / consulting within internal development teams to focus on, embed and evolve security as part of ongoing software / platform development. Push and enhance technical aspects of security forward. Beneficial experience Automation of security / data enrichment Looking to interview and engage ASAP