Manchester-based online retailing group THG said on Wednesday it “unequivocally rejected” a “wholly unsolicited, largely unfunded, highly conditional and non-binding proposal” from investment vehicle Selkirk to acquire its Myprotein online sports nutrition business for between £400 million and £600 million.
Selkirk was set up by former THG director Iain McDonald.
THG said: “The proposal ascribed a headline value to Myprotein of £400m – £600m on a cash-free, debt-free basis.
“The majority of the consideration offered was in the form of newly issued Selkirk shares, and the remainder of the consideration would have been payable in cash from a new equity and debt issuance, which was largely unfunded and without appropriate detail on its source.
“The board considered that the proposal fundamentally undervalued Myprotein and its prospects, and in addition carried significant execution complexity and risks, in particular the ability of Selkirk to raise sufficient funding.
“On this basis, the proposal was unequivocally rejected by the board. THG confirms that there has been no further engagement with Selkirk since the proposal was rejected.
“Following the Ingenuity demerger on 2 January 2025 and its recent successful refinancing, the company has reduced its gross and net debt, secured long-term banking facilities and is focused on executing its growth and cash generation strategy.
“The group’s preliminary results and Q1 trading update are expected to be announced on or around 30 April 2025.”
THG is a global e-commerce group headquartered in Manchester, operating through two consumer businesses: THG Beauty and THG Nutrition.
THG Beauty operates online platforms including Lookfantastic, Cult Beauty and Dermstore, offering a route to market for over 1,300 third-party brands, alongside a specialist portfolio of owned brands.
THG Nutrition is led by Myprotein, an online sports nutrition brand.
In a statement, Selkirk said: “Selkirk Group plc, the AIM investment vehicle focussed on acquiring undervalued companies or businesses in the consumer e-commerce, technology and digital media sectors, is providing the following shareholder update in response to the statement published this morning by THG plc.
“Selkirk recently made a preliminary conditional offer to acquire MyProtein from THG for £400 – £600 million, subject to completion of the necessary due diligence.
“The board of Selkirk believed that such an acquisition could achieve long term value accretion for Selkirk shareholders and at the same time would be advantageous to THG and its shareholders. The offer would have comprised a mix of cash and new shares in Selkirk (expected to be issued at a premium to the current Selkirk share price). This offer would have constituted a reverse takeover under the AIM Rules for Companies.
“Unfortunately, after consideration by the board of THG, the offer was rejected based on (i) valuation, (ii) proposed structure of the offer (iii) the deliverability of the offer and (iv) a lack of certainty that a newly listed MyProtein would have sufficient stock market trading liquidity. Whilst we respectfully disagree with the conclusions, we would like to thank the board of THG and their advisers for their time and efforts in considering our proposal.
“Where we are completely aligned with the board of THG is in its conclusion that MyProtein is a world class brand with tremendous growth prospects, but which is currently dramatically undervalued by the UK market. Whilst Selkirk is no longer in any form of discussions with THG, we reserve the right to reconsider this in future should there be a change in circumstances.
“In parallel, Selkirk has continued to build a pipeline of acquisition opportunities. We remain more convinced than ever that our reverse takeover into a listed vehicle model is a strong option for companies either seeking to IPO or for existing listed companies looking to realise value for a subsidiary. Our model gives the owners of assets the opportunity to realise the benefits of a market listing – price discovery, ongoing access to capital and brand profile – whilst maintaining exposure to valuation upside.
“The board of Selkirk will continue to actively pursue our current pipeline. The board, its advisers and its larger shareholders have significant experience both in the target sectors and the wider UK stock market. Meanwhile we have continued to focus on a disciplined filtering approach to opportunities and preservation of the capital raised at IPO.
“We are extremely grateful for the support of our investors and more excited than ever for the opportunities which are in front of us.”