Sunday, December 11, 2005
LSE: Macquarie insists “derisory” bid is serious; Macquarie to approach investors directly – report
mergermarket.com: "LSE: Macquarie insists �derisory� bid is serious; Macquarie to approach investors directly � report
StoryMacquarie has insisted that its GBP 1.48bn (EUR 2.2bn) offer for the London Stock Exchange is serious, according to a report in the Daily Express. The bid was described by the LSE as �derisory� in a statement yesterday and, analysts cited in the report said, could have been a ruse to lower the sale price or to exit the process gracefully once its approach had been rebuffed. An analyst from Man Financial suggested that the recent move may have been made to give the Australian bank more time to team up with another bidder, the report said.
An item in the Daily Telegraph cited sources near to Macquarie who said the offer was not a precursor to withdrawal; it added that the bank is to consider new financial data from the LSE before making a decision on whether to up its bid. The information requested by Macquarie is the same as that given to Deutsche Borse and Euronext when they were potential buyers earlier in the year, the report noted.
The Daily Mail said that Macquarie was set to take its offer directly to shareholders in the London exchange to try and garner some backing; Threadneedle, the largest investor, declined to comment but number-two investor Scottish Widows stated that it would be happy to talk the potential deal through, the unsourced item said. The Guardian added that Macquarie is keen to reassure LSE users that dealing will not become more expensive in the event that its takeover goes ahead.
SourceDaily Express, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail
ValueGB"
StoryMacquarie has insisted that its GBP 1.48bn (EUR 2.2bn) offer for the London Stock Exchange is serious, according to a report in the Daily Express. The bid was described by the LSE as �derisory� in a statement yesterday and, analysts cited in the report said, could have been a ruse to lower the sale price or to exit the process gracefully once its approach had been rebuffed. An analyst from Man Financial suggested that the recent move may have been made to give the Australian bank more time to team up with another bidder, the report said.
An item in the Daily Telegraph cited sources near to Macquarie who said the offer was not a precursor to withdrawal; it added that the bank is to consider new financial data from the LSE before making a decision on whether to up its bid. The information requested by Macquarie is the same as that given to Deutsche Borse and Euronext when they were potential buyers earlier in the year, the report noted.
The Daily Mail said that Macquarie was set to take its offer directly to shareholders in the London exchange to try and garner some backing; Threadneedle, the largest investor, declined to comment but number-two investor Scottish Widows stated that it would be happy to talk the potential deal through, the unsourced item said. The Guardian added that Macquarie is keen to reassure LSE users that dealing will not become more expensive in the event that its takeover goes ahead.
SourceDaily Express, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail
ValueGB"
