Augmentum investors to benefit from Share Plc takeover

Augmentum Fintech investors are set to cash in on Interactive Investor’s acquisition of Share Plc, the owner of The Share Centre.

The £61.9m takeover, which is subject to shareholder approval and other conditions, is expected to complete in the third quarter.

Read more: Zopa write-down dulls Augmentum Fintech growth

Augmentum Fintech – the UK’s only publicly-listed investment company which focuses on the fintech sector – has placed 3.7 per cent of its portfolio in Interactive Investor. The deal has led Augmentum to revise the value of its holdings in the company by almost 40 per cent – from £14.8m as at 30 September 2019, to £20.7m today.

“This announcement does not constitute or describe an updated net asset value (NAV) of the company,” said an Augmentum Fintech spokesperson in a written statement to the stock market.

“The company’s NAV as at 31 March 2020 will be calculated in accordance with its valuation policy and is expected to be reported in July 2020 in line with the company’s scheduled reporting timetable.

Read more: Lack of trust and customer inertia are barriers to fintech growth, says PwC

“Shareholders should note that the calculation of the NAV, and the NAV per ordinary share, as at 31 March 2020 will take account of the latest valuations of all of the Company’s investments and the updated carried interest calculation.”

Share Plc’s investors will receive 41p in a combination of cash and stock for each share they hold – a 41 per cent jump from the firm’s 29p closing price on Friday 14 February 2020.

“Given Augmentum is one of the very few ways public markets investors can access the growth coming from Share Plc, they cannot be anything but pleased with the announcement,” added Jeremy Gime, a senior analyst at Charlton Illingworth.

Read more: SMEs use funding for cashflow as late payments crisis intensifies