Hands ups pressure on Novera
GUY Hands, chairman of private equity firm Terra Firma, is playing hardball in his bid to buy wind farm group Novera.
The takeover bid is being spearheaded by Infinis, a green energy firm owned by Terra Firma.
A spokesman for Infinis said Novera was in crisis and would be well-advised to sell up. Earlier this month, Novera’s chief executive quit, just months after the departure of its finance director.
Infinis also said all small wind energy firms would be bought eventually, as they need large amounts of capital to succeed. Infinis could provide this thanks to Terra Firma’s backing, she said.
Infinis is trying to persuade the firm to accept a 62.5p a share takeover approach that values Novera at around £90m.
The offer is at a 43 per cent premium to Novera’s share price over the last six months.
But with City analysts saying that a fairer price would be around the 90p mark, Novera’s chairman Roy Franklin dismissed the overture.
As a prelude to the bid, Infinis last week boosted its stake in Novera from 29 per cent to 42 per cent by buying tranche of shares from Credit Suisse.