Quarto Group share price up after revealing takeover approach

Publisher Quarto Group (LON:QRT) share price ticked up on Tuesday morning after news of a takeover approach from a mystery buyer.

The announcement statement disclosed that the company had “received an approach to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of the Company at a price the Board considers to be attractive and reflective of the inherent value of the business as a global publishing platform – and hence worthy of due consideration.”

The group added that: “Discussions with the bidder are at an early stage and there can be no certainty that an offer will be made or as to the terms of any such offer.”

Due to the early stage of the prospective bid, Quarto have decided not to disclose the identity of the bidder.

This follows a less than stellar set of half-year results for the publisher, which were also published today.

Quarto attributed the slower than usual performance to a challenging retail environment which saw revenues dip to $50 million in the six months to 30 June, down from the $58 million reported across the same period last year.

Pre-tax losses also climbed significantly to $9.2 million, compared to a loss before tax of a significantly smaller $1.9 million for the first half of 2016.

Chief Executive of the group, Marcus Leaver commented on the results:

“It has been a transitional period with the completion of the disposals of our non-core businesses while facing a challenging trading background in our key domestic markets”.

“We have seen lower initial orders and reprints from some large customers. In particular, most of our adult imprints have performed below our expectation,” he added.

Quarto Group is a global illustrated publishing group which is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The company currently employs over 400 people across its 11 offices in the U.K, The U.S Hong Kong and Australia.

Despite the disappointing update on sales, shares in Quarto are currently up 14.70 percent as of 10.19AM (GMT) as investors react to the news of the prospective takeover bid.

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