Shopping centre owner Hammerson has rejected an increased takeover bid by French rival Klépierre.
Klépierre, which owns malls in 57 cities and 16 countries, raised its bid to 635p for each Hammerson share representing a 3.25% increase on the company’s previous offer.
The amount represents a 22% premium on the company’s current share price on Wednesday.
The new bid values the company at a little over £5bn (€5.7bn) – up from the previous valuation of £4.88bn.
Hammerson, which has interests in 22 major shopping centres across Europe, noted that the increased bid only represented “a marginal increase to Klépierre’s unsolicited proposal of 615 pence made” last month, which the board voted “unanimously” to reject.
David Tyler, chairman of Hammerson, said that the board had carefully considered the revised proposal. However, “at 635p, it is only a 3% increase on the previous proposal and continues very significantly to undervalue the company”, he added.
In a note, analyst Exane BNPP said it was surprised that the new offer came in “at such an underwhelming level…We had previously assumed that a second approach would be pitched at closer to 650p.”
Another analyst at Stifel added that Hammerson’s advice to shareholders to sit tight was unsurprising.
The move by Klépierre, which has a property portfolio valued at almost €23bn at the end of December 2016, comes in the face of attempts by Hammerson to finalise a £3.4bn tie-up with Intu Properties, which would have created the UK’s largest real estate company.
Hammerson, which has a £11bn property portfolio, said it would delay the Intu deal until the final shape of Klépierre’s offer emerges.
Klépierre declined to comment on the revised offer. The company now has until 16 April to finalise the details of its offer.
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