The number is irrelevant until we understand what happens to the mission. We have built this organisation around a purpose that goes beyond shareholder return, and our people are here because they believe in it. If the acquirer shares that purpose and can accelerate it — genuinely, not as an acquisition narrative — then this is worth exploring seriously. If this is about absorbing our capabilities and folding our identity into theirs, then no premium justifies that. We are asking for a candid conversation about what becomes of everything we have built, not just the assets.

We are listening. One point five times is a starting number. The question is whether there is more on the table if we run a proper process — and whether the acquirer's earnout structure matches what our people have been working toward. We are not emotionally attached to independence. We are attached to outcomes for the people who built this. We are engaging an investment bank and running a clean dual-track process: get the best deal from this offer or surface competing interest. One party at the table is not a negotiation.

We are not opposed to this conversation, but we are going to be honest about what we are. What we have built here cannot be replicated cheaply, and a lot of what makes it valuable would evaporate under a different ownership structure. The offer implies they understand what we are worth — which means they also understand what they would be buying. We want to see their integration thesis, understand what autonomy would look like post-acquisition, and talk honestly with our people before we go any further. This is not about the money first.

This tells us we are doing something right. A larger competitor does not make this kind of approach unless they are genuinely threatened by what we are building. The question is whether they are offering to buy us because they want to accelerate us, or because they want to stop us. Those are very different deals. We are going to be direct with them about what we need to keep doing what we do — and if they cannot give us that, we would rather use this conversation as proof of concept for our next funding round.