Shares in security and cash transport firm G4S (GFS) rallied 8% to a two-year high of 247p after Canada’s Garda World stepped up its efforts to win over shareholders with a revised final bid.
Early this morning Garda World hiked its cash bid by almost 25% from 190p to 235p, valuing G4S at just under £3.7 billion, and relaxed the acceptance level from 90% to 50% plus one share. It set a deadline of Wednesday 16 December for acceptances.
G4S has consistently rejected Garda World’s approach, calling the 190p per share offer ‘unsolicited’ and ‘inadequate’, and has issued several documents on its investor website defending its intention to remain an independent business.
However, in today’s statement the firm said the firm’s board would ‘evaluate’ the revised offer and would make an announcement in due course. At the last count, Garda World had secured less than 1% of G4S’s capital.
Last month, G4S turned down a second unsolicited approach from US firm Allied Universal, which had made a ‘highly conditional’ bid at 210p per share. Today though the firm admitted it was still in discussions with the US bidder and that any firm offer would need to be made by Wednesday 9 December.
Whichever deal the firm goes for, it looks increasingly like the end of the road for G4S as a listed company. In its favour, Garda World has already secured US and European anti-trust clearances for its offer, and has reached an agreement with the G4S UK pension trustee on a £770 million support package.
