Berendsen top 10 shareholder backs board's rejection of takeover bid from Elis - report
Berendsen’s [LSE:BRSN] rejection of an 1,173p per share takeover offer from French services company Elis [EPA:ELIS] has the support of one top 10 shareholder, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
The shareholder said Elis’ offer does not recognise the progress made by Berendsen’s management in turning the UK-based textile services company around.
The shareholder added that although there is a logic to the proposed combination of Berendsen and Elis, Berendsen’s rejection is understandable as the price offered was “not compelling.” The bid cash plus shares offer values Berendsen at about GBP 2bn (EUR 2.28bn), the item said.
Berendsen’s board said on 24 May that Elis’ offer is “very significantly” below the company’s value and that it sees no basis for talks.
The top 10 shareholder went on to speculate that Berendsen’s strongly-worded rejection of Elis’ offer means that the French company would need to increase its bid price by a minimum of 10% for Berendsen to enter talks.
The 1,173p per share offer from Elis followed an initial bid of 1,100p per share, the item noted.
Takeover Panel regulations stipulate that Elis must state its intention to make a formal offer for Berendsen by 15 June or withdraw.
Berendsen’s share price gained 13p to close at 1,092p on Friday, 26 May, giving the company a market capitalisation of GBP 1.88bn