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(Sharecast News) - Science Group announced on Friday that it has acquired an 8.46% stake in Ricardo, investing £12.2m in the engineering and environmental consultancy.
The AIM-traded firm said the shares were purchased on the open market between 16 and 27 February at an average price of 231p each.
It said that it could choose to increase its holding further.
The company said it intended to engage with Ricardo's board and major shareholders regarding the investment, highlighting that Ricardo's share price was near a 15-year low before the stake was acquired.
Science Group contrasted that with the FTSE Small Cap index, which had risen over 130% over the same period, and its own performance, having delivered a more than 15-fold return to shareholders since 2010.
The acquisition was funded from Science Group's existing cash reserves.
As of 31 December, the company had gross cash of £38.6m and net funds of £26.8m.
It said its revolving credit facility remained undrawn, while its ongoing share buyback programme was unaffected by the investment.
At 1119 GMT, shares in Science Group were down 0.28% at 433.8p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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