Blackstone and St Modwen have agreed an increased and final offer for a take-private at 560p per share.
The new price is a boost on the initial bid of 542p, and values the company at around £1.272bn.
Last month the pair agreed a take-private deal expected to complete in July. However, St Modwen’s share price has continued to inch up – suggesting that some investors were anticipating an improved offer, or even a rival bid.
The new price is a 25% premium to the closing price of 448p on 6 May 2021 – the final day before the offer period commenced. It is a 21.1% premium to St Modwen’s EPRA NTA of 463p at 31 May.
The proposed acquisition follows multiple proposals from Blackstone in the 10 weeks following St Modwen’s most recent results. In February, the company reported a £120.8m full-year loss and NAV down by 11.6% in the period to the end of November.
St Modwen said the acquisition would accelerate the value that could be realised in the company. It highlighted the potential in the logistics business, where around 12m sq ft – 60% of its landbank – does not currently have planning consent. This “will require significant additional capital” and could see St Modwen almost double delivery from 1.2m sq ft in 2020 to 2m in 2022.
Investors that own approximately 23.9% of St Modwen’s shares have said they will vote in favour of the offer. This includes Aviva Investors (7.27%), the Clarke family (5.22%), the Leavesley family (4.85%) and Aberdeen Standard Investments (2.3%).
St Modwen is advised by Lazard, JP Morgan Cazenove and Numis. Rothschild & Co are advising Blackstone’s vehicle Bidco.
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