Shares in Whitehead Mann, the City headhunters, surged this morning after the group said it had received a £26 million approach.
The recruitment company said in a statement it had “received an approach from a third party management buy-in team, supported by a financial sponsor, that may or may not lead to an offer for the Company at 42p in cash per share.”
Sources close to the company said the release of a price signalled the talks “have been substantial”.
Possible suitors include Korn Ferry, the US peer believed to have been behind an approach made last year for Whitehead Mann that did not become firm. Fellow American groups Heidrick & Struggles and Russell Reynolds are also in the frame.
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The shares gained 11 per cent or 4p, at 39p in early trade. To track the stock click here.
An independent sub committee of the company’s board, chaired by Sir Colin Southgate, has been formed to consider the approach, Whitehead Mann said.
In June, the group announced second-half operating profits of £500,000 as full-year losses narrowed to £1.3 million from £9 million a year earlier, aided by an increased demand for executives fuelled by an M&A boom.
The company said the results reflected a successful restructuring after a raft of profits warnings in 2004 and early 2005.
It added in its statement today: “There is no certainty that an offer will be made for the Company and, if made, there is no certainty as to the terms of such an offer.”