The US private-equity firm made a cut-price 65p-a-share cash offer last month which was quickly rejected by the AIM-listed supplier, now branded BRCK.
Both sides continued talks but Atlas has now walked away after “a 90-minute meeting with the CEO of BRCK at which limited further information was supplied.”
The firm added: “The limited information supplied, and the limited management access granted in the timeframe available was not sufficient and has not enabled Atlas to complete the thorough due diligence required.”
As a war of words broke out BRCK countered: “In order to establish whether Atlas was prepared to improve its proposed offer price, the Board provided Atlas with access to due diligence materials, including a management presentation on the Group, access to a data room and meetings with senior management.
“The data room contained extensive information on the Group, including detailed business and financial information, in response to requests from Atlas. The Board offered to provide further meetings with senior management together with additional information on the business, which Atlas decided not to take up.
“The Board has been advised by its financial advisers that the information and level of access provided to Atlas was significantly in excess of that which would be customary in these circumstances.
“The Board sees no merit in an open-ended engagement with a counterparty that is not prepared to put forward a price that the Board believes, after consultation, would be attractive to shareholders.
“The Board did not receive any revised proposal from Atlas. Instead, as set out in its announcement today, Atlas voluntarily decided to disengage. The announcement made by Atlas today does not reflect the extensive and constructive engagement that the Board has provided over the last four weeks.”
