Network International confirms £2.1bn takeover bid from Brookfield Asset Management – outpacing competing bids
- Brookfield Asset Management has made an offer of 400 pence per share for Network
- CVC and Francisco Partners currently offer Network 387p per share
- There is a renewed takeover frenzy for listed UK companies
Brookfield Asset Management has joined the takeover battle for payment processor Network International with a £2.1 billion counteroffer.
Bloomberg initially reported Thursday that the Canadian investment group was considering a bid for the Dubai-based company.
The proposal represents a 13 pence-per-share premium over the joint approach of private equity consortium CVC Advisers and Francisco Partners, which Network said earlier this week it was “minded” to accept.
Bidding competition: Brookfield Asset Management has joined the takeover battle for payment processor Network International with a £2.1bn counter-bid
Both bids are below Network’s IPO price of 435p four years ago in what was then the largest IPO by a technology company on the London Stock Exchange since Worldpay’s £4.8 billion IPO in 2015.
Network told investors Friday it was reviewing the Brookfield proposition with financial advisors and would make an additional statement in due course.
“There is no certainty that Brookfield will make an offer, nor on the terms and conditions on which an offer can be made,” the company added.
Following the announcement, Network International equities rose 9.4 percent to 394p in early Friday trading.
The interest in Network comes at a time of renewed excitement for listed UK companies among foreign investors seeking to take advantage of cheap valuations.
On Friday, bosses at Sureserve, a social housing energy services company, said they had agreed to a £214.1 million takeover by private equity firm Cap10 Partners.
In its most recent full-year results, the Kent-based group reported sales were up 27 percent as its gas divisions won a large number of major contracts.
Earlier this week, embattled e-commerce retailer THG revealed it had secured a “very preliminary and non-binding indicative proposal” from Apollo Global Management.
THG shares have plummeted more than 80 percent since the company went public in September 2020 due to a slowdown in online sales, corporate governance concerns and heavy losses.
Apollo is also targeting oilfield service provider John Wood Group, which recently raised its bid for the Edinburgh-based company to £1.7bn after four previous bids were rejected.
Other companies that have received takeover bids include real estate fund Industrial REIT and veterinary product maker Dechra Pharmaceuticals.
Among the companies that have fallen into foreign hands in the past year are fashion retailer Ted Baker, aerospace component maker Meggitt and defense giant Ultra Electronics, which was acquired by Advent International.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: ‘While British investors may welcome outside approval that UK stocks are undervalued and may welcome the potential for a quick return from a takeover, it is not good for London’s long-term health. . market to see so many names disappear.’