Hearn rescues OPD

(By Anthony Miller – Wednesday, 27th May 2009 8:00am). As expected (see OPD seeks funding – will chairman come to the rescue?), Peter Hearn, non-exec chairman of recruitment firm OPD Group, has made a 57p per share cash offer for the company, which has been recommended – sort of – by the other non-exec directors. I say ‘sort of’ because although they themselves have tossed their shares into Hearn’s hat, their ‘recommendation’ (see here) was somewhat guarded, along the lines of believing “that the Offer Price of 57 pence per share is a fair price in the current market but may not reflect the long term value of the OPD Group”. Nonetheless, the tone of the ‘advice’ (and their own actions) make it pretty clear what they think shareholders should do.

Hearn is acting in concert with LSE-listed investment trust Graphite, which is providing part of the funding, along with Hearn and certain directors, including ex-Tory cabinet minister, Virginia Bottomley, who chairs executive search division, Odgers. Hearn has stated his intent to sell off Odgers to management if his bid for OPD is successful. Odgers makes the most profit in the group (though see Odgers weighs heavily on OPD profits). Its divestment would leave Hearn with faded ITSA (IT staff agency) star PSD, interim management firm Hoggett Bowers, and executive search firm, Portfolio.

But as we said before, OPD has no business being a listed company and it’s difficult to imagine a competing bidder coming forward.