Marshall Motors shares fly more than 43 per cent after Webuyanycar takeover bid
Car retailer Marshall Motors’ shares have surged more than 43 per cent this morning after receiving a takeover bid from its largest shareholder.
The offer of 400p per share – or around £201m – comes from Constellation Automotive which owns a 64.4 per cent stake in the London-listed company.
Constellation, which also owns Cinch and Webuyanycar, now has 28 days to make a concrete offer to the group.
Despite vehicle supply chain uncertainty, Marshall raised its full year profit forecast in its latest quarter as it anticipates an underlying profit before tax of no less than £50m for 2021.
It follows Constellation snapping up European digital car marketplace CarNext in October, with a gross merchandise value of £17.7bn (€21bn).
“The used car market is one of the last bastions of the retail market not to be digitized. Like the travel, electronics or apparel market before it, this is just a matter of time,” partner at Constellation’s majority shareholder TDR Capital Thibaut Large said last month.
“Constellation with its vertically integrated model across C2B, B2B and B2C is leading the way by transforming how consumers and professional buyers purchase and sell used cars online.”