Shares in Nomad Building Solutions were up 26 per cent today, after announcing it would acquire privately owned Bloomer Constructions Qld for up to $10.4 million, which offset news of an expected loss in its McGrath Homes business.
Queensland-based BCQ is owned by Wayne Bloomer, who will now join the Nomad management team for a term of five years.
Consideration will include an upfront payment of $5.9 million, $1.5 million of which will be cash and $4.4 million in Nomad shares.
The remainder will be paid in two tranches, based on an attendance and performance targets.
Mr Bloomer will hold a 19.9 per cent interest in Nomad when the deal is completed in April, rising to 31 per cent upon satisfaction of the targets.
Nomad said it would also raise $3.5 million through a placement, managed by Sydney-based Ryder Capital, to fund the up-front consideration.
Shareholders will have an opportunity to grant approval to the plan in April.
Nomad said it would be able to use previous tax losses to ensure payment of dividends by the 2016 fiscal year.
It forms part of a strategy to restore value through complimentary mergers and acquisitions, the company said.
The move comes three months after the appointment of former non-executive director Heather Gardner last year as chief executive.
That followed the resignation of managing director Andrew Sturcke.
Nomad, which delivered a net loss of $6.9 million in the 2013-14 financial year, said it would also write down goodwill in its Mcgrath business by around $15 million.
Additional impairments would bring the total hit to around $20 million, the company said.
The group is now forecasting a EBIT loss for the first half of the year, including one-off costs of $2.3 million.
The company previously placed its Queensland operations on care and maintenance in late 2013.
Nomad closed trading today at 5.4 cents per share.
