Intu Properties likely to report slight fall in NAV this week - report
21 OCT 2018
Intu Properties [LON:INTU], a UK-based retail property company, is likely to post a slight fall in its net asset value (NAV) this week, according to a Sunday Times report. The newspaper did not cite a source for the prediction.
Intu had NAV of 362p as of June, the item said.
Intu’s chairman, John Whittaker, is leading a consortium that submitted an indicative takeover bid, pitched at 215p per share, for the shopping mall operator on 11 October, as disclosed by Intu on 19 October.
Whittaker’s consortium includes Brookfield Property Group [NASDAQ:BPY] and Olayan Group.
The report went on to cite one of Intu’s top-20 shareholders, who said the Whittaker-led bid will probably succeed even though it is pitched significantly below Intu’s NAV.
The shareholder said the discount has to be weighed against the uncertain prospects of another bidder emerging. Whittaker’s consortium already holds a combined 30% stake in Intu, the shareholder noted.
The report went on to quote Crispin Odey, whose Odey Asset Management fund holds a short position over 1.6% of Intu stock. Intu shareholders should accept the offer “immediately,” Odey said.
Coronation, the South African fund management firm that holds a 20% stake in Intu, will probably use its leverage to push for an improved offer, the item said.
As reported, rival UK retail property group Hammerson [LON:HMSO] withdrew a GBP 3.4bn (EUR 3.85bn) takeover bid for Intu in April due to opposition from shareholders.
Intu Properties’ share price closed 22.3p up at 200.0p in London on Friday, 19 October, giving the company a market capitalisation of GBP 2.71bn (EUR 3.07bn).