Another contender could soon emerge in the Clarity Commerce Solutions/Enigmatic Investments bid scenario. Clarity Commerce says it is in advanced discussions with another party regarding an alternative proposal. There’s still a gap between discussions and a formal bid of course, so another bid that has approval of the board should not be taken as read, but shareholders who have been slowly succumbing to Enigmatic’s attentions now have something else to think about that could put more money on the table.
Where there were said to be several interested parties, this number has come down to just one. There is still no indication of who the other party is but if all went well Clarity believes it would improve Clarity’s financial position and international reach. It is noticeable just how many UK HQ’d companies are having to look outside the UK to find the growth to sustain the business. Meanwhile Clarity has rejected Enigmatic’s revised offer of 25p per share, maintaining it still undervalues the company.
There is a degree of brinkmanship in this whole situation. The would-be alternative bid is taking a long time to surface while all the time Enigmatic Investments has been building its supporter base (see Now or never for Clarity Commerce Solutions and Enigmatic? ). The potential of a higher offer, or a cash/shares combo, could slow the flow but the alternative bid has to surface soon.