Housebuilder Countryside Partnerships hunts for buyers after rejecting £1.5bn bid
UK housebuilder Countryside Partnerships is on the hunt for buyers, according to a regulatory filing this morning, just weeks after it rejected a $1.9bn (£1.5bn) proposal from US firm Inclusive Capital.
“A meaningful number of shareholders believe that the Company would be in a better position to capitalise on the opportunities ahead as a privately-owned company or as part of a larger business and have asked the Board to actively seek offers for the Company,” it said in a statement on Monday.
“In light of this feedback, the Board has decided to conduct an orderly process to establish whether there is a bidder prepared to offer a value that the Board considers compelling relative to the long-term standalone prospects of Countryside as a listed company.”
Countryside in late May rejected two unsolicited and “conditional” proposals, which it claimed “materially undervalued” the company and the board’s prospects.
The London-listed firm assured shareholders that should no buyer emerge, then it has “significant potential” operating as a “standalone entity”.
Businesses that are interested in buying the firm as the UK’s property market leaps in value will be required to enter a non-disclosure agreement, the company added.
Countryside, which has appointed Rothschild & Co as its lead financial adviser, said it expects this process to take a number of months to wrap up.