Backing for Axis-Shield £230m snub

A SECOND institutional investor has backed the decision by Axis-Shield's board to reject a £230 million approach for the Dundee-based medical testing kit maker.

Mark Niznik, who manages the UK smaller companies fund at Edinburgh-based Artemis Investment Management, agreed that rebuffing the 460p-a-share offer from New York-listed Alere was the right move.

Niznik said: "This is a story that could take several months to play out. The board is right to hold out and not just jump at the first offer that comes along.

"The fact that Alere has approached Axis-Shield shows that its Afinion machine is worth a lot of money."

Artemis holds a 5.2 per cent stake in Axis-Shield, shares in which jumped nearly 50 per cent on Wednesday after the approach was made public.

Aviva, which owns 3 per cent of the Scottish firm, has already backed its board.