Sofa Carpet Specialist (ScS) has accepted an acquisition bid of around £99.4 million from Italian furniture retailer Poltronesofà.

The Poltronesofà board said there was a “compelling strategic and financial rationale” for undertaking the buyout as it forms part of the next step in the company’s pan-European expansion.

The furniture retailer added that the two businesses share “many common values and principles.”

“The ScS board believes Poltronesofà will bring significant benefits to ScS through its broad industry expertise in addition to providing the necessary capital that would accelerate our current strategy, albeit in a private rather than public sphere,” said Alan Smith, non-executive chair of ScS. “The acquisition will enable ScS to continue as part of a broader, pan-European entity in pursuit of its strategy and position it for long-term success in the UK."

Under the terms of the deal, ScS shareholders will receive 280p for each ScS share and a final dividend of 10p for the year ended 29 July 2023 which is not conditional on the acquisition becoming effective.

“The acquisition represents the best opportunity for Poltronesofà to enter the United Kingdom market of upholstery products,” said Poltronesofà chief executive Renzo Ricci. “Poltronesofà believes it is strategically very well placed to support ScS in the next stage of its development, and by building on the combined industry knowledge and experience and providing the necessary capital to accelerate ScS's ambitions, the acquisition will help ScS realise its full growth potential."

Directors at the Sunderland-headquartered company have been advised on the financial terms of the acquisition by Shore Capital and said they consider them to be “fair and reasonable.”

Share Story: