Intu granted second deadline extension for Whittaker consortium takeover offer
Shopping centre giant Intu has again extended the deadline for finalising a takeover offer, the company said today.
Intu, which owns the Trafford Centre in Manchester, said a consortium of buyers now has until 5pm on 30 November to announce its firm intention to make an offer on the company.
The consortium is made up of property mogul John Whittaker’s Peel Group, Saudi conglomerate Olayan Group and Canadian firm Brookfield Property Partners.
Intu said the consortium has largely completed the due diligence process and has made “substantial progress” in securing financing for a potential offer. It said there was no suggestion the consortium would alter its previous proposal of 210.4p a share, making the deal worth roughly £2.85bn.
Intu had previously extended the deadline to today, saying it needed more time to finalise an agreement with the consortium.
Shares in the company soared almost 30 per cent last month after the takeover proposal first emerged. Intu’s share price was up a marginal 0.4 per cent this morning.
But the chain told investors it had taken a £300m hit in the three months to the end of September as retail closures took their toll.