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Consortium including Peel Group mulling takeover bid for Intu

By Prachi Singh

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Report

Billionaire owner of Peel Group, John Whittaker, is looking at striking a deal to acquire Intu Properties in a bid to take it private, reports The Times. The move comes after Intu’s owner failed to reach a proposed 3.4 billion pounds merger deal with Hammerson. Peel Group confirmed to The Times that it had formed a consortium for a potential bid with Olayan Group, a Saudi conglomerate, and Brookfield, a Canadian private equity group.

After the possible cash takeover of Intu broke out, Reuters said, the troubled company's shares jumped more than 27 percent on Friday.

Peel Group may make a buyout offer to Intu

The Times report quoted a statement from Brookfield Property, saying: “it was in the preliminary stages of considering a possible cash offer for the issued share capital of Intu not already owned by members of the consortium”.

In a separate statement, Intu said: “The board of Intu has formed an independent committee comprising all directors of Intu other than John Whittaker, who is connected to the consortium. The independent committee will consider any approach from the consortium, if made, and a further announcement will be made if and when appropriate.”

Intu was established in 2007 after Liberty International split its 6.2 billion pounds property portfolio to create Capital & Counties, the owner of Covent Garden Market, and Capital Shopping Centres, which later changed its name to Intu. The report added that the retail developer owns 17 shopping centres in Britain and Europe, including the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Lakeside in Essex.

As the largest shareholder of Intu, Peel Group already holds around 26 percent stake in the company, while The Olayan Group holds about 3.5 percent.

Picture:Intu media gallery

Intu
John Whittaker
peel group