Lighthouse shareholder expects 11th-hour bids after Quilter's £42m offer

Is the deal cheap?

Lighthouse shareholder Cavendish Asset Management expects other suitors to arrive at the 11th hour as it waits to see if Quilter's offer of £42m for the firm is topped.

The asset manager argued Quilter's bid for the 400 adviser-strong firm, which was announced earlier today, was low "for a business with blue-chip clients and good growth potential". It went on to suggest the AIM-listed firm would be ripe for another offer from the likes of Hargreaves Lansdown, Rathbones, Smith & Williamson, or others of that ilk. The deal Quilter has agreed with Lighthouse, which has the backing of the latter's executive and top three shareholders, would see Quilter and its advice arm Intrinsic grow to more than 3,900 financial advisers. Quilter is paying £46.2m in...