Bid hopes stall Khan's Ofex float
Article Date: Jan 09 2002Entrepreneur Nasa Khan has stalled the Ofex float of his fast-growing mobile phone accessory distributor, The Accessory People (TAP), and the company says possible acquisitions could mean a move straight to Aim instead. James Crux reports.
TAP's directors have decided to withdraw its application to join the J P Jenkins market because, over the past four weeks, it has been 'actively pursuing major acquisition opportunities', which 'could potentially double the size of the group'.
If successful, the deals might have interfered with the listing of its shares as the company's make-up would be dramatically changed. In a press release today, the group said 'such an event in itself would have required the withdrawal of the application and a complete rewrite undertaken to incorporate any possible acquisitions'. In the light of today's news, and if deals do come off, hopeful investors might see the venture by-pass Ofex and move straight to the Alternative Investment market instead. In its announcement, the company added that 'directors will review the opportunity to join the Ofex or Aim markets in the near future'.
The Accessory People originally intended to list on Ofex tomorrow through an introduction that would have valued the business at about £10 million. It achieved annual sales of around £5 million just four years after Khan started the business. The company designs accessories for mobile phones under the 'TAP' brand, whose production it then mostly sources from China and other low-cost sources in the Far East.
This story is from Growth Company Investor, the independent voice on fast-growing companies. Subscribe today for the latest AIM recommendations.
