The opportunistic bid for Thorn Group by Bermuda-based investment company Somers Ltd closed on Friday, with Somers forced to walk away without securing control.

In mid-June, Somers and associated companies, which are Thorn’s biggest shareholders, made an offer of 21 cents a share for the company. The offer price was a 1.2 per cent premium over the 10-day volume weighted average price of Thorn shares prior to the offer.

Thorn’s board rejected the offer, relying on an independent expert’s report by Grant Thornton that said the offer undervalued the company.

The offer closed on Friday. It could have been extended if Somers and its associates had acquired voting power of more than 50 per cent of Thorn, in which case the offer would have been automatically extended for 14 days.

At the time the offer was launched, Somers held 19.9 per cent of Thorn. With associated companies, investment manager ICM Ltd and UIL Ltd, it controlled a total of 34.49 per cent of Thorn.

According to a notice to the ASX on Friday, Somers and associates had 42.85 per cent of Thorn.

Somers was looking to pick up Thorn cheaply, betting that other shareholders would be happy to be rid of the poorly performing company.

Over the past 18 months, Thorn closed all 62 Radio Rentals stores and stopped originating business finance.

Following the store closures, the Radio Rentals business suffered a 93 per cent fall in volume to March this year.

The business finance division was forced to stop originating after arrears reached 36.6 per cent in July last year, breaching its warehouse covenant. Business receivables fell 40 per cent to March.

The company has plans to transform Radio Rentals into a digital business and revive the business finance division but so far it doesn’t have much positive to report.