LONDON: British construction firm Carillion yesterday raised for the third time its merger proposal for engineering company Balfour Beatty, with new terms that value its rival at £2.1bn ($3.5bn).
Carillion said under the new offer, Balfour shareholders would have 58.3 percent share of the combined firm. They would also get a cash dividend of 8.5 pence per share.
Carillion raised its offer following talks with Balfour’s biggest shareholders in the last week. Its negotiations with Balfour’s board ended last month after the two sides clashed over the sale of Balfour’s US engineering and design business Parsons Brinckerhoff.
Niall Dineen, portfolio manager at AGF International Advisors and a shareholder in both the companies, said the improvement in the offer should be enough to get Balfour Beatty to engage.
“The Carillion argument regarding synergies seems sensible, the Carillion idea of keeping the Parsons Brinckerhoff business seems sensible and the improvement in the offer should be enough to get Balfour Beatty to engage with them,” he said.
Shares in Balfour were trading up 2.8 percent at 254.9 pence at 1446 GMT, while Carillion was down 0.1 percent at 336.9 pence.
Reuters
