Brave Bison abandons pursuit of Mission Group after it refuses to engage in ‘constructive dialogue’

Digital advertising group Brave Bison has abandoned its attempts to take over Mission Group, criticising the firm for refusing to engage in “constructive dialogue”.

The AIM-listed firm submitted two bids for Mission Group, with the second bid representing a 55 per cent premium on Mission’s pre-offer share price. Brave Bison also intended to pay down a portion of Mission’s £26.8m debt to create a “sustainable capital structure”.

Last week, Mission Group, a digital marketing firm, said the offer was “opportunistic and significantly undervalues the group“. It argued that Mission shareholders would be under-represented in the combined group.

In a statement this morning, Brave Bison confirmed it would not submit another offer. It said Mission’s board had rejected “attempts for constructive dialogue and chose not to provide access to due diligence information or key management personnel”.

“The board of Brave Bison is disappointed by the lack of engagement from the Mission board and does not believe that the Mission board’s strategy to deleverage the business will deliver value for Mission shareholders in excess of the revised proposal,” it said.

“Brave Bison is a disciplined acquirer and is not willing to advance the possible offer without due diligence or access to key management,” the company confirmed.

In response, Mission said it expects to realise value through its standalone strategy. “The board of Mission also remains confident that during the remainder of the year, it will deliver on its plan to reduce leverage”.

Under takeover rules, Brave Bison is now unable to make another offer within six months unless it secures the agreement of the Mission board or another firm makes an offer.

The company was founded in 2011 under the name Rightster and floated on AIM in 2013. Tory peer Lord Ashcroft is a prominent investor in the firm.

In February 2023, Brave Bison inked a deal to buy Social Chain, the social media advertising and influencer marketing company founded by podcaster Steven Bartlett. Since 2020, Brave Bison has acquired five companies.