'Nasty pill' for Outsourcery shareholders as AIM trading suspended

Outsourcery claims to have received a number of offers for its assets

Current proposals to sell Outsourcery assets could "leave no or limited value" to equity shareholders, the firm has announced, as it suspends the trading of its shares on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

On Friday afternoon, the cloud provider said it had received "a number of initial offers for its assets" and that the board continues to evaluate the options in a bid to strengthen its immediate and long-term financial future.

"While the process continues, the board has concluded that it is no longer possible to present audited financial results for the year ended 31 December 2015 by 30 June 2016," the company said in an announcement on the London Stock Exchange.

"As such, the company has requested a temporary suspension of the under-mentioned securities from trading on AIM with immediate effect, pending publication of its audited financial results and the appropriate notification being made in accordance with the AIM rules."

Outsourcery announced in April that it reached an agreement with Vodafone for a new "conditional drawdown working capital facility" worth an undisclosed sum.

Analyst TechMarketView today described Outsourcery as "struggling" and said the latest news will not go down well with shareholders.

"There's a nasty pill for shareholders to swallow - in Friday's announcement the company also said that while it has received'a number of initial offers for its assets' (we have to wonder if Vodafone is in the mix here), the possible proceeds from any offer/offers would 'leave no or limited value to equity shareholders'," said research director Kate Hanaghan. "It doesn't get much worse for those who have invested."