Cornerstone FS shares gained 5.2% to 8.95p in early morning trading on Friday, after the forex group reported its agreement to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Pangea FX Limited for a maximum consideration of £200,000.
The company said it would pay the maximum amount of £200,000 depending on future performance, and would transfer the payment in cash and loan notes.
Pangea FX Limited is a treasury and specialist FX consultancy focused on helping its clients control the impact of currency volatility on their business, primarily via a bespoke service to UK corporate clientele.
Cornerstone FS commented it believed the acquisition would accelerate the company’s growth through the acquisition of Pangea FX founders Joe Jones and Stuart Plummer, who will join the group as senior sales executives.
Jones and Plummer will lead Cornerstone FS’ sales function, with Jones based at the company’s London headquarters and Plummer positioned at the firm’s Dubai office.
Each are set to receive 550,000 options in the firm’s share option scheme. The options vest after two years at 10p per share, pending the successful execution of relevant performance criteria.
Cornerstone FS confirmed additional benefits in the form of Pangea FX’s existing clientele migration, alongside operational synergies from the closing of the Pangea FX office and relocating their employees to the main Cornerstone office.
“We are pleased to have completed this acquisition and welcome the Pangea FX team to Cornerstone. Joe and Stuart have done an excellent job of building the Pangea FX business and we look forward to benefitting from their skills and experience, both in the UK and in Dubai,” said Cornerstone FS chairman Gareth Edwards.
“As we stated at the time of our fundraising, our intention was to invest in our sales team to drive growth and we believe this is the optimum means of achieving that as we also gain a book of business in the short term, which we expect to be significantly expanded going forward.”
“With Joe and Stuart having worked with our team members in the past, we are confident that they will be strong additions to Cornerstone and we look forward to updating the market on their success.”
