Coda has recommended Unit 4 Agresso's 205 pence per share cash offer to shareholders after no other suitors stepped forward with a bid for the financial management software firm.

Netherlands-based Unit 4 Agresso approached Coda in December last year, although the two firms didn't reveal a takeover bid could be in the pipeline until mid-January.

The agreement values Coda's equity at £158m and the Aim-listed company has granted limited due diligence to Unit 4 Agresso.

Unit 4 Agresso said the deal will create a pan-European financial software provider punting its ERP software at the mid-market, and added that Coda would open up access to emerging markets in central and eastern Europe and Asia Pacific.

Coda shares are currently trading at 201 pence on the London Stock Exchange.

The Unit 4 Agresso press release is here. ®