UK regeneration specialist St Modwen said on Thursday that it has reached an agreement with Blackstone on a 542-pence-per-share takeover proposal.
The St Modwen directors, who have been advised by Lazard, JP Morgan Cazenove and Numis on the financial terms of the deal, said they consider the terms of the acquisition ‘to be fair and reasonable’. The board will unanimously recommend shareholders to accept the bid.
‘The board remains confident in St Modwen's strategy and continues to believe that St Modwen is well positioned to succeed as an independent business but has concluded that the acquisition presents shareholders with a significant acceleration of this value creation,’ the company said.
The proposed bid values the group at around £1.2 bn (€1.4 bn), representing a premium of 21% to St Modwen's closing share price of 448 pence on 6 May 2021, the day before the bid was announced; a 37% premium on the volume weighted average St Modwen share price of 395 pence over the past six months as well as a 24% premium to the firm’s latest reported EPRA Net Tangible Assets Per Share of 438 pence.
St Modwen delivered strong operational results in 2020 with a strategy focused on two sectors, logistics and housebuilding, which make up 78% of its portfolio and are expected to represent over 90% within three years.
Logistics represents nearly half of the portfolio, with the firm on track to deliver 1.5 million sq ft of new developments in 2021. The company boasts a total long-term pipeline of 19 million sq ft, focused on key logistics corridors and conurbations.
