M-R Group Plc, the UK-based document management company, is to be taken over by US information management giant Lason Inc in a 88.4m pound ($144.3m) deal. Lason sees the acquisition as a platform for building its presence in Europe. The offer tempts M-R shareholders with an 11% premium on the market price before the bid was revealed.
M-R group revealed earlier this week that it was engaged in takeover talks when it reported net profits up 54% at 953,000 pounds on revenue that rose 16.5% to 24.4m pounds. Lason, which has a stock market value of around $821m, employs 8,000 people and services 4,000 customers. Outside its extensive US interests, it has operations in Canada, Mexico, India and the Caribbean.
