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Hammerson tumbles as Klepierre ditches its pursuit
French real estate investment trust Klepierre does not intend to make an offer for Hammerson after its second approach to the UK shopping centre owner was rebuffed.
Hammerson said on Wednesday that it had received and rejected a second bid offer from Klepierre valuing the group at £5.04bn, but that it remained "open" to further talks on any proposal from Klepierre "which properly reflects the value of the company".
The revised offer, made on 9 April, was 635p a share, made up of 50% in new Klepierre shares and the rest in cash.
But Klepierre said on Friday that it was abandoning its pursuit of Hammerson "after careful consideration" as the group "did not provide any meaningful engagement with respect to the increase proposal".
Hammerson said it continues to believe that Klepierre's proposal, which the board carefully considered following a meeting between David Tyler and Jean-Marc Jestin, "very significantly" undervalues the group.
Chairman David Tyler said: "The board is confident in the intrinsic value of Hammerson and its prospects. It is entirely focused on delivering value for shareholders in the shorter and longer term."
Hammerson rejected a 615p a share bid from Klepierre back in March, three months after it set out to buy smaller rival Intu Properties in a £3.4bn tie-up.
At 0810 BST, Hammerson shares were down 12% to 458.40p.
Stifel said that with Klepierre out of the way, it does not see a different potential bidder for Hammerson and the company is now clear to publish the shareholder documentation relating to its proposed takeover of Intu, the timetable for which has not slipped, and is still expected to complete in the fourth quarter of this year.
It pointed out that Hammerson's shares have been trading roughly between the possible Klepierre bid price and the prevailing share price prior to Klepierre's first non-binding offer.
Stifel added: "Hammerson had delayed releasing the shareholder documentation relating to its offer for Intu until the Klépierre situation was resolved, and we expect this to be published today or early next week. The EGM, at which Hammerson will require 50% of its shareholders to approve the all-share offer, will be 28 days afterwards. Intu, on a similar timetable, requires 75% of its shareholders to approve the deal.
"Whilst we expect the Intu shareholder vote to pass comfortably, there may be some disquiet from Hammerson shareholders, but with significant cross shareholding between the two, we expect Hammerson shareholders to also approve the deal. Of the 25 largest institutional investors in Hammerson, 20 also own stakes in Intu; these shareholders own a combined 63% of Hammerson and 71% of Intu."