SerpApi.Org
U.S. warehouse landlord Prologis sweetened its bid for U.K. rival Segro to 14 billion pounds ($18.72 billion), saying this was its final proposal and ruling out further increases.
The move came after shareholders in both companies called on their boards to enter talks over a possible deal that would see Prologis, the world’s largest owner of industrial real estate, take over its smaller rival, which owns industrial and logistics properties across Europe and is developing a portfolio of data centers.
Prologis said Wednesday that it is offering 0.092 new shares for each Segro share tendered. Its latest offer values the U.K. company at 10.32 pounds a share, or 3.9% more than its previous proposal and 9.5% above the initial approach.
The company is also offering a partial cash alternative of up to 3.5 billion pounds, or a quarter of the total price.
Segro didn’t respond to a request for comment. The company earlier this week said it had rejected a previous proposal from Prologis but that it would be available to engage with its suitor with an improved bid on the table.
Shares in Segro were up 3.7% in European afternoon trading, still trading below the price implied by the bid.
Prologis said it improved its bid after listening to feedback from shareholders, and that it sees the revised proposal as a compelling offer to the Segro board.
“There is no doubt a combination of both companies would deliver meaningful value,” Prologis Chief Executive Dan Letter said. “We run Prologis with discipline and this is our best and final offer.”
Prologis urged Segro to seek an extension to the deadline, currently set to expire Wednesday, by which it must either announce a firm intention to make an offer or walk away under U.K. takeover rules.
An extension would allow both parties to agree to other terms of a deal, Prologis said. The company said it intends to explore a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange in connection with the combination, but that it needs to engage with Segro’s board to proceed.
Activist investor Palliser Capital, which holds a small stake in Segro, also urged the company’s board to seek a bid-deadline extension to facilitate talks with Prologis.
“The ‘best and final proposal’ from Prologis presents a compelling shareholder value proposition that deserves full and meaningful engagement by the [Segro] board,” Palliser said.
Segro declined to comment on Palliser’s demands.
Other shareholders in both Prologis and Segro have publicly asked their boards to open takeover talks.
Norges Bank Investment Management, the arm of Norway’s central bank that manages the country’s $2.3 trillion sovereign-wealth fund, said Tuesday that it believed the proposal merited consideration. APG Asset Management echoed the call, saying a collaborative process offered the greatest prospect of achieving a successful outcome.
Write to Adrià Calatayud at [email protected]
