Insider Media Limited

Three Birmingham-based professionals are advising Hephaestus Holdings after a cash offer was made by its biggest shareholder.

ITI Industrial Investments (UK), which is owned by a director of Hephaestus, is making offer for the company.

Charles Cattaneo and Ian Stanway of Cattaneo and Keith Spedding of Shakespeares are advising Hephaestus Holdings.

It is the first deal the team has acted on under the new takeover code rules brought in on 19 September in the wake of US confectionery giant Kraft's controversial takeover of Cadbury last year.

Investment company ITI acquired 60 ordinary shares at £375 apiece this week, which took its total interest in Hephaestus to 38.1 per cent.

The offer is conditional on ITI receiving valid acceptances by the closing date.

ITI is controlled by Chris Heminway, a director of Hephaestus.

The offer price of £500 per share (equivalent to 2p per share before the company's recent share consolidation) values the entire issued share capital at £1,265,000 and the shares for which ITI is making the offer at £783,000.

Cattaneo said: "The offer has been triggered by ITI buying some shares taking their holding up to 38.1 percent, under the Takeover Code because ITI already held 35.7 percent it is obliged to make a mandatory cash offer for the shares it does not already own.

"The company came off AIM in April and has no intentions to provide a ready market for shareholders going forward and so this offer could provide shareholders with an exit for cash if sufficient accept the offer for it to go unconditional."