Companies: ATG   

AIM-quoted Adventis Group, which increased pre-tax profits 34 per cent to £1.03 million in the year to March, is buying healthcare specialist Roundhouse Advertising and 'planning and buying' agency Coltman Media for a maximum £8.7 million in cash and shares over the next three years.

The addition of Hertfordshire-based Roundhouse should be ‘earnings-enhancing from the start’, says Adventis chairman Peter Mitchell, and should give Adventis a long-awaited entry into the healthcare sector, adding such blue-chip pharmaceutical clients as Pfizer and Organon to the books. Coltman Media, which also boasts a solid client base, will build on Adventis’ existing services in the financial sector, creating a ‘significant player in the media industry’.

Mitchell maintains the move is in line with Adventis’ acquisitive strategy. He says ‘it is the reason we sought a listing and it’s the reason that we raised funds in the first place’.

Adventis listed on AIM in July 2004 with a £3 million fund raising. Management set about the search for suitable acquisition prospects but until now, had not found the right one.

Now, the company, which had £3 million cash at the end of March, argues these two ‘milestones in our growth’ should increase group turnover by around 50 per cent and fit in well. Adventis' future strategy, according to Mitchell, will be to integrate the two new operations as smoothly as possible, while keeping an eye out for further acquisitions.

Shares in Adventis currently trade at 43p, valuing the company at £14.04 million.

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