Songbird Estates, the owner of the Canary Wharf Group, has rejected a take-over approach from Qatar Investment Authority and Brookfield Property Partners.
In a statement, the board of Songbird said it unanimously concluded to reject a proposal made yesterday on the grounds that it “materially undervalues Songbird”.
David Pritchard, independent chairman of Songbird, said: “This proposal significantly undervalues Songbird and does not reflect the inherent value of the business and its underlying assets.
“The group has an exceptional management team with a clear vision to deliver additional shareholder value, including from our 11m square foot development pipeline, the largest in London.”
Songbird yesterday said it had received a preliminary joint approach from Qatar and Brookfield, expressing an interest in formulating an offer for the company.
Brookfield and Qatar – which owns 28.6% of Songbird – had until 4 December to announce a firm intention to make an offer.
In June, China Life and Qatar Holdings bought a 70% stake in 10 Upper Bank Street in London’s Canary Wharf.
Qatar took a 20% stake in the partnership behind the purchase, while Songbird kept a 10% stake.
More recently, South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) was reportedly selling the headquarters of HSBC at Canary Wharf to Qatar for an estimated £1.1bn (€1.42bn).
NPS paid around £800m for the tower in 2009.
