Klépierre has pulled the plug on its attempts to buy Hammerson – paving the way for the latter to complete its acquisition of rival Intu.
French property giant Klépierre made a shock proposal to buy Hammerson last month, which was labelled “wholly inadequate and entirely opportunistic” by Hammerson chairman David Tyler.
Klépierre upped its offer earlier this week, proposing a deal that would have valued Hammerson at 635p per share. The proposal represented a 45% premium on the shopping centre landlord’s share price.
However, following a meeting with Klépierre chairman Jean-Marc Jestin on Monday night, Tyler knocked back that improved proposal, claiming it “very significantly” undervalued the business.
Klépierre had a deadline of Monday April 16 to submit a formal offer for Hammerson, which owns UK malls including Brent Cross, Birmingham’s Bullring and Cabot Circus, in Bristol.
But today the company said that “after careful consideration” it had decided against lodging a firm bid.
As previously reported, Hammerson had hit the pause button on its pursuit of UK rival Intu amid the shock interest from Klépierre.
It is now expected to press ahead with the £3.4bn deal, which was agreed by the two companies last December.
Should the acquisition go ahead, Hammerson would add the likes of Lakeside in Essex, Newcastle’s Metrocentre and the Trafford Centre in Manchester to its UK portfolio.
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