Alterian and SDL reach agreement on £68m takeover

SDL, makers of web content management technology, will pay £1.10 per Alterian share. Shareholders representing 32% of Alterian’s shares – including the CEO Heath Davies (pictured), chairman Phil Cartmell and other directors – have already committed to voting in favour of the takeover.

The shareholders’ meeting is scheduled to be held on 6 January.

SDL chief executive Mark Lancaster said: “The combination of Alterian’s marketing and analytics capabilities and SDL’s global content management and ecommerce capabilities creates a compelling solution for companies to be successful in engaging with their customers.”

Lancaster first approached Alterian with an informal £50m takeover offer in October but this was rejected by Davies and Cartmell, Alterian’s new management team who were brought in to lead a turnaround of the business after a disappointing set of financial results.

Once SDL upped the price, Alterian said it was ready to talk. Meanwhile, Davies and Cartmell continued with a restructuring of the business, ripping out costs by cutting staff numbers and offices and reorganising the business around three product lines and two territories.

Earlier this week the firm reported six-month revenue down 6% to £17.2m and an operating loss of £18.6m.