Belfast scientific camer manufacturer declines £5 per share offer

Belfast-based

Andor Technology

has declined an offer from British-based

Oxford Instruments

saying it is disappointed with the bid price but adding there remain “a number of potential outcomes”, to the offer.

Chief executive Conor Walsh said the company, which makes highly specialised digital cameras, will remain in contact with Oxford.

“The board has a responsibility to do its best for shareholders and also be mindful of the stakeholders in the company,” he said. “We are reviewing our strategic options, but we remain in discussion with Oxford Instruments.”

Andor was responding to an offer price of £5 per share made last month by Oxford, which wants access to Andor’s scientific digital cameras. This values the company at £159 million (€191 million).

Andor said it was holding to its stated intention of a standalone growth plan, but it was also actively soliciting a recommendable offer from Oxford Instruments or any other parties.

The offer has had a dramatic effect on Andor’s share price, which has leapt from about £4 at the beginning of November to a closing price of £5.02 sterling last night. Andor, one of only three Northern companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, employs over 300 people in 16 bases worldwide.

Profits slipped during 2013, but Mr Walsh says the company’s prospects remain bright following acquisitions over the past 12 months.

“We alerted shareholders to that [profits warning] during the early part of the summer and these results are in line with that revised expectation,” he told the BBC.

“The order intake is at record levels of £59.1 million, that means the opening order book going into next year is 33 per cent up on where it was last year. We’ve added two acquisitions to the business in recent months, which will add significantly to the growth of Andor going forward.”