Hammerson board to examine Intu deal amid investor unrest - report
15 APR 2018
Hammerson [LON:HMSO]’s board of directors is expected to convene a meeting this week to scrutinise its proposed takeover of Intu Properties [LON:INTU] amid increasing shareholder dissatisfaction, The Sunday Times reported.
Intu has a significant debt burden and owns assets considered to be of inferior quality to its larger competitor Hammerson, the report said.
Analysts believe Hammerson may attempt to renegotiate the terms of its transaction with Intu to secure a better deal in a weakened retail sector, the report said. In the event Hammerson abandons the Intu takeover altogether, it may instead appease investors with share buybacks and asset disposals, the analysts predict.
Klepierre [EPA:LI], the French shopping mall operator, last week announced it was ending attempts to acquire Hammerson after two rejected bids, latterly pitched at 635p per share, the report noted. Some Hammerson shareholders were keen for the company to engage with Klepierre and push up the bidding; an unidentified top-20 shareholder quoted in the report said they were angry and appalled at the way Hammerson had acted.
One of the company’s top-10 investors said he would find it difficult to back the proposed GBP 3.4bn (USD 3.9bn) merger with Intu in the wake of Klepierre’s offers, which represented a premium of 45% over the undisturbed Hammerson stock price. As previously reported, top-five shareholder APG has announced it finds the Intu proposal “insufficiently attractive”.
The original report appeared in The Sunday Times, Business & Money section, page 3
Cellnex Telecom investor Criteria may increase stake if Benetton family acquires 29.9% - report (translated)
16 APR 2018
Cellnex Telecom’s [BME:CLNX] investor Criteria - the industrial holding of the Spanish financial entity La Caixa - could increase its stake to 15% if the Benetton family, through the vehicle Edizione, acquires a 29.9% stake, El Economista reported.
The deadline for offers for Abertis’ [BME:ABE] 29.99% stake in the Spain-based telecom infrastructure company, ends today Monday 16 April. Abertis currently holds 34% of Cellnex.
Criteria could increase its stake in Cellnex from the current 5% to up to 15% in several transactions, the Spanish-language paper said citing unspecified sources. The transaction is being analysed, and is subject to Edizione becoming Cellnex’s first shareholder, according to the report.
Shire investors to be wooed by Takeda CEO - report
16 APR 2018
Takeda Pharmaceutical [TYO:4502] Chief Executive Christophe Weber will this week visit the USA on a charm offensive aimed at shareholders in Shire [LON:SHP], The Daily Telegraphreported. The Takeda CEO is scheduling meetings with Shire’s biggest investors prior to launching a possible formal takeover bid, the report said.
JPMorgan [NYSE:JPM], Capital Group and Blackrock [NYSE:BLK] are among the largest shareholders in Shire, which is headquartered in Ireland but has an operational base in the USA.
Takeda is believed to be weighing a sale of Shire’s neuroscience arm to fund its acquisition of the business, City sources cited in the report said.
The original article appeared in The Daily Telegraph, Business section, page 5