Photo-Me runs photo booths across the world
(Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)The chief executive of photo booth and vending machine operator Photo-Me has tabled a lowball takeover bid for the company.
Serge Crasnianski, a 79-year-old Frenchman who made his name with an automatic key-cutting machine, has announced a 75p-a-share offer, valuing the business at £284.5 million.
The bid is being supported by his daughter Tania Crasnianski and Jean-Marc Janailhac, both of whom are executive directors of the company. The mandatory offer comes after Crasnianksi, who has been with the business since the early 1990s and in charge for a decade, bought a 7.7% chunk of shares. It takes his and his allies holdings to 36.5%.
Crasnianksi’s proposal is a slight discount to Photo-Me’s closing price on Thursday. An independent committee of board members not associated with the deal told investors to take no actions for now and promised a full assessment of the offer in due course.
Shares ticked up 0.4p, or half a percent, to 76p.
Crasnianksi founded the French arm of Photo-Me’s business and ran the whole company before being ousted by activist investors in 2007 over concerns about “unsatisfactory” performance. Crasnianksi returned to the top of the business a few years later and is currently deputy chair as well as CEO.
Crasnianksi said he and his allies wouldn’t pursue any job cuts or strategy changes if the deal went through. He said a sale would give shareholders “liquidity” they otherwise lack due to low turnover of shares.
Photo-Me operates 44,600 vending machines and photo booths in 18 countries around the world, including the UK. It made a profit of £492,000 on sales of £310 million last year.
Credit Agricole has been lined up to provide £202 million of financing for the offer, with the remaining coming from Crasnianksi and his team.
