Office2Office, the Norwich-based provider of business supplies, has announced it has accepted a takeover offer by EVO Business Supplies worth approximately £19.1m, sending shares soaring on Thursday.

The agreement means EVO, a newly incorporated company owned by the Endless III Funds that are managed by Endless LLP and formed solely for the purpose of the takeover, will acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Office2Office.

EVO offered 51p a share for Office2Office, an 85% premium to Wednesday's closing price. It plans to merge the company with business supplies firm Vasanta which it bought in 2009.

"We believe that Office2Office is a business with a number of attractive characteristics which will benefit from the operational expertise and financial support of Endless," said Mathew Deering, a director of EVO.

"Furthermore, the merger with Vasanta makes strong strategic and operational sense. It provides an exciting opportunity for the combined group to deliver a strong offering to the market going forward."

Office2Office chairman Jim Cohen said the deal would "provide certainty" for the company's shareholders.

"EVO's recommended cash offer announced today represents a significant premium to office2office's current share price and will provide certainty for our shareholders," he said.

"Following a review of strategy, we have considered a number of options for office2office's future and have concluded that combining office2office with Vasanta is the best way of creating value for our shareholders."

The takeover will be financed entirely out of funds managed by Endless.

Office2Office shares soared to 48.20p at 08:22 on Thursday, a 74.48% increase.

DC

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