Daisy not for the picking as acquisition talks break down

Secret talks with Virgin Media parent Liberty have sputtered out over price, according to reports

Talks between Daisy Group and a US suitor have broken down over price, according to national reports.

According to Sky News, The Times and the Financial Times, global cable company Liberty Group – which owns Virgin Media – had been in informal talks to buy the UK telecoms services outfit for more than £500m in recent weeks.

But the consensus is that those talks have ended because Daisy could not meet Liberty's expectations over the price. Daisy had been asking for up to 220p a share, valuing itself at nearly £600m, according to The Times – about £100m more than its current £500m market capitalisation.

Any deal would boost Virgin Media's presence in the B2B space, where the firm is acknowledged to be weak.

"Daisy's apparent willingness to even discuss being acquired is symptomatic of the current pricing environment," Andrew Darley, analyst at Finncap was quoted as saying by the FT.

"If we're in a bubble, [its chief executive] Matt Riley should most certainly embrace the opportunity . . . Either way, investors should cash in."

Daisy is more used to being the hunter rather than the hunted, having made a string of acquisitions over the past several years. The AIM-listed firm, which hit £351.5m turnover in its last financial year, last summer vowed to continue playing the consolidator after securing new debt facilities of £200m in March.

Headed by Apprentice regular Matthew Riley, Daisy has seen its share price double since the start of 2013.