Bosses buy Actinic assets for £1

THE managers of e-commerce software group Actinic are buying all the operations for a nominal £1 and getting a £385,000 cash sweetener into the bargain. Chairman John Standen, one of two independent directors, said other bids were considered but the management's offer was the best deal available.

The rump of Actinic will be liquidated and the proceeds, an estimated 7.95p a share, paid to shareholders. The flotation price in 2000 was 81p. Liquidating the group without offloading the operating business would have raised only 7.45p a share, Standen said.

The management buyout team is led by chief executive Kevin Grumball. It initially demanded a larger cash sweetener to meet the liabilities of the business it was taking on.

One small shareholder, Paul Scott, accused the board earlier this month of having a conflict of interest and complained to the Financial Services Authority. Actinic has since made its own submission to the FSA.