9th May 2018 16:16
LONDON (Alliance News) - Horizon Discovery Group PLC on Wednesday noted Abcam PLC's statement earlier in the day it will not be making an offer for Horizon.
The gene modulation company also reiterated its outlook for future performance remains strong.
A week ago, life science e-commerce firm Abcam confirmed it had proposed a possible offer for Horizon at 181.00 pence per share, valuing Horizon at GBP270.0 million, which was rejected.
On Tuesday, Horizon reported a pretax loss of GBP14.3 million for 2017, compared to the 2016 figure at GBP12.5 million. The loss was higher despite revenue for the year growing to GBP36.5 million from GB24.1 million year on year.
The wider loss, Horizon said, was due to research & development costs nearly doubling to GBP11.9 million from GBP6.2 million as well as higher sales, marketing, & distribution costs.
Having considered this, Abcam said earlier Wednesday, as well as Horizon's statement it believed there is "little" strategic rationale for a combination, it decided not to make an offer for Horizon.
Abcam had previously said it believes Horizon to be "highly complementary" to its existing business.
Abcam shares were up 0.8% Wednesday at 1,252.00 pence each, while Horizon shares were 9% lower at 169.00p.
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