McCambridge takeover of Inter Link back on track
McCambridge, best known for its speciality breads, had threatened to withdraw its approach after Inter Link refused to let the company talk to its bankers.
McCambridge had accused British firm Inter Link of obstructing its attempts to conduct due diligence. The two companies engaged in a war of words on Tuesday with Inter Link saying it could not allow McCambridge to talk to its lenders without signing a confidentiality agreement.
McCambridge, which is now in the third generation of family ownership, said that given the level of debt on Inter Link books its takeover approach could not progress and on Tuesday it threatened to walk away.
However, after talks with Inter Link yesterday morning, an agreement had been reached to sign on the terms of the disputed confidentiality agreement.
McCambridge, which employs 1,000 people in Ireland and Britain, first approached the struggling Inter Link in early May after buying up a near 9% stake in the cake and dessert maker.
But it could face an uphill battle to buy London-quoted Inter Link. The company’s chairman Jeremy Hamer said yesterday that it had received several expressions of interest.
“We’ve had no talks but we’ve definitely had interest ... we’ve had about a dozen calls in 2007,” he said.
Shares in Inter Link, which had fallen by 12% when McCambridge said it was prepared to walk away from a possible offer, gained 9% yesterday, valuing the company at €20 million.
Inter Link was valued at €23m when McCambridge first made its approach on May 4.
Earlier this week, Inter Link announced it had called in consultants Deloitte to advise a turnaround plan.
Inter Link has suffered falling sales and profits in the last year as the food market in Britain becomes more competitive.
Shares in Inter Link have fallen by 72% in the past year and it has also parted with three chief executives.
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