SPEEDO swimwear-to-Kickers shoes company Pentland is set to go private after directors approved a multi-million pound buyout plan by the company's family shareholder.

Independent directors at Pentland - which has a major distribution centre in Blackburn - said they were recommending shareholders accept the offer from Robert Stephen Holdings a company owned by the Rubin family company. RSH already controls 56.4 per cent of Pentland.

The company first announced it was in talks over a Rubin family buyout in July.

The full package values Pentland at £500 million a 60 per cent premium to its market value before the buyout talks were first announced last month.

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