It’s not a great surprise that Pattison Limited’s offer for Patsystems has been announced unconditional; Pattison's parent company ION Trading (an international electronic risk trading and risk management player) was already the main shareholder in Patsystems (see ION’s rescue of Patsystems confirmed), so they were already part way to achieving the level of acceptances required. In addition, the offer had been wholly recommended by the Patsystems' Board. The recommended cash offer of 14 pence per share was confirmed in December valuing the embattled derivatives trading software company at £29m.
So we will wave goodbye to another publicly-quoted ‘Little British Battler’ (ironic considering our event yesterday), as Patsystems applies to AIM for the cancellation of its listing. The good news is that Patsystems and its employees have the potential to benefit from the greater financial stability that will come from being part of its new owner.