P502    Teletext   502 Jan12 22:57:28
  
  
  
 ———————  ————————————————— 
 SAGE GROUP MAKES BEST BID              
                                        
 Computer services group Sage has made  
 a £272m offer for the US-based company 
 Best Software.                         
                                        
 Sage has bid $35 (£21.50) in cash for  
 each Best share, which represents a 24%
 premium to Best's closing share price  
 of $28.25 on January 10.               
                                        
 In order to fund the acquisition, Sage 
 intends to make a placing of 43.7m new 
 shares, or 3.6% of its share capital,  
 to raise at least £272m.               
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 Financial headlines 500 City index 501 
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              SEE p206                  
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