Taking quick advantage of its newly-public status and the ability to make acquisitions for shares that it confers, Newmarket, Suffolk-based Roxboro Group Plc yesterday announced plans to acquire UK sensor, transducer and measurement instrument supplier Solartron Ltd, Thames Ditton, Middlesex for an initial UKP43m, plus assumption of debt. Roxboro said it plannned to raise UKP30.6m of this in a placing and open offer of new shares at 255 pence a share, on the basis of 37 new shares for every 100 shares held, and is encouraging holders by forecasting a total 1994 dividend of not less than 4.5 pence a share, against an initial forecast of just 1.9 pence. A further amount of up to UKP10m is payable if profit targets are met. It reckons that acquisition of Solartron, which did UKP4.8m before tax and interest on sales of UKP48.2m, 70% of those overseas, in 1993. The placing and open offer is conditional on completion of the deal, and is fully underwritten by Samuel Montagu, with James Capel broker to the placing.Roxboro shares were heartened by the news and immediately rose 17 pence to 287 pence.
