14-05-2025
Pawnbroker H&T snapped up by US rival in £300m deal
The directors of Britain's biggest pawnbroker chain have recommended a £297 million offer by an American rival in another blow to the London stock market.
H&T and Texas-based FirstCash, which has been stalking the company since December with three previous proposals, have agreed terms on a final all-cash offer of 661p a share. The offer represents a 44 per cent premium to the stock's closing price of 458p on Tuesday.
The bid works out as 650p in cash for each H&T share and a final dividend of 11p, which is to be paid on June 27.
H&T's shares jumped 183½p, or 40.1 per cent, to a record high of 641¾p in morning trading.
Rich L Wessel, chief executive of FirstCash, which operates more than 3,000
