Outsourcer spends £3.1m on further 47.7% stake

Money

Motor claims outsourcing firm Quindell has acquired a further 47.7% stake in Ai Claims Solutions for £3.1m and launched a complete takeover bid.

Quindell, which now owns 77.6% of Ai Claims, bought 29,070,146 shares from five Ai Claims investors in a share deal issuing 50,369,001 new Quindell ordinary shares of 1 pence each.

Of these, 25,487,574 were issued at a ratio of 3.2 new Quindell shares for each Ai Claims share, with the new issued Quindell shares subject to 12-month lock-in restrictions. The remaining 24,881,427 were issued at a ratio of three new Quindell shares for each Ai Claims share, with the new issued Quindell shares subject to 12-month orderly market restrictions.

Quindell is now obliged to make a mandatory cash offer with share alternative to acquire the entire issued share capital of AIM-listed Ai.

Quindell chairman and chief executive Rob Terry said: “We are delighted to be announcing this latest investment and offer for the remaining 22.4% of Ai Claims.

“Now that Ai Claims is a subsidiary of Quindell, we will continue to lower the cost of claims for the insurance industry and work with major insurers, looking to offer them the choice of a combined accident management, credit hire, legal services and medical services solution that will be unique in the UK marketplace, or of taking individual services according to their specific requirements.”

For the year ended 30 June 2011, Ai Claims had profits of £2.7m and in the six months to 31 December 2011, Ai Claims made profits of £0.9m. As at 31 December 2011, Ai Claims’ net assets were £19m.

In a statement this morning, Ai said: “The board of Ai will communicate its advice to shareholders as soon as practicable.”

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