Boating electronics provider Raymarine was saved from collapse over the weekend with a last-minute buyout.
Negotiations with a 'third party', which turned out to be the eventual purchaser, broke down momentarily, with GPS company Garmin making a last-ditch bid to buy the company. The bid would have been subject to receiving the green light by competition authorities.
Raymarine plc was forced to go into administration when its banking consortium withdrew finance on May 13, casting the future of the company into some turmoil.
As a result, Raymarine plc was put into administration on Friday, with all the working business elements of Raymarine Holdings then immediately sold out of adminstration to the original third party.
The eventual purchaser was Flir Systems, a US-based thermal imaging company, which bought Raymarine at a valuation of £124 million, making a 20-pence-per-share return to shareholders. The purchase price includes Raymarine's debt, which has been put at close to £100million, but the per-share return may diminish further once creditors claims come in.
Although Garmin's per-share bid was higher (£0.35 per share), the immediacy of the Flir bid made it more palatable to the administrators.
The transaction ensures business as usual for Raymarine customers and suppliers.
Raymarine is one of the world's leading radar, GPS and marine instrumentation brands. Flir are a major manufacturer of thermal imaging cameras
All documents relating to the sale can be viewed on Raymarine's investor relations page.
