Numerica chiefs set for windfall

Numerica chiefs set for windfall

Numerica executives could be in line for windfalls of up to £700,000, after BDO Stoy Hayward confirmed it was in talks to acquire the business and create the biggest UK accountancy firm outside the Big Four.

Link: Numerica/BDO merger on the cards

After Monday’s confirmation of the discussions, Numerica chief executive Tony Sarin said: ‘We are in talks which may or may not lead to an offer for our shares.’

BDO said that a further announcement would be made in due course. The two firms are understood to have appointed external advisers to investigate the offer further.

A deal would see Numerica chief executive Tony Sarin net £700,000, based on his reported shareholding in the company’s latest annual report, and a likely offer price of 60p a share. Financial director Peter Jenkins would earn £420,000. Chief operating officer Julian Synett would gain just over £250,000, executive director Derrick Woolf would earn £312,000 while non-executives Christopher McCann and John Spencer would receive £281,000 and £218,000 respectively.

Nine acquisitions helped Numerica to fourteenth in this year’s Accountancy Age Top 50. If sixth-placed BDO Stoy Hayward does complete the deal, the merged business would leapfrog Grant Thornton into fifth.

Shares in Numerica surged 43% to 56.5p on Monday’s news, which prompted speculation that other players in the consolidated sector, such as Tenon Group and Vantis, could become takeover targets.

Tenon declined to comment, but Sarin said that the talks did not signal the end of the consolidator model. ‘If a deal went ahead where Numerica were to delist I wouldn’t see that as an issue for the model itself.’

One market-watcher said that up to three other firms were seriously considering flotation. – See opinion, page 16.

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