British airports operator BAA Plc rejected an £8.75 billion (US$15.35 billion) conditional cash offer from Spanish infrastructure company Grupo Ferrovial SA on Friday.
BAA, which operates seven airports across the UK, including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted in London, said that the £8.10 per share proposed offer did not reflect the true value of its assets.
"On the basis of this proposal, the board does not believe it is in shareholders' interests for it to enter into discussions with Ferrovial," BAA said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.
Ferrovial said the proposal offered attractive value for BAA shareholders and it was "disappointed that BAA has chosen to reject the proposal without further discussion."
Ferrovial, which made the approach as part of a consortium also comprising Canadian investment fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and Singaporean government fund GIC Special Investments Pte Ltd, said its "strong preference" was to receive a recommendation from BAA, rather than move to a hostile bid.
"Therefore, the consortium would be willing to increase its offer by a small increment in return for BAA agreeing to grant the limited due diligence access ... and recommending the consortium's offer," it said.
The offer is a 25 percent premium to the level that BAA's shares were trading at ahead of Ferrovial's statement on Feb. 8 that it was considering a bid.
BAA's shares closed 1.25 percent lower at £8.285 on the London Stock Exchange, after initially falling further immediately after the announcement.
Analysts said BAA's rejection was unsurprising given reports that others, including Australia's Macquarie Bank Ltd, are also interested in the airports operator.
Ferrovial, which owns construction company Amey, said that the consortium was "committed to the long-term ownership and continued development of BAA's business."
It said the group would focus on investment in the UK and enhancing airport capacity in southeast England. BAA is already building a fifth terminal with British Airways Plc at Heathrow Airport and a second runway at Stansted to cope with extra demand.
Ferrovial said Friday it has been advised that any formal bid would not be met with any material regulatory hurdles.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) halted shipments to a customer this month after its semiconductors were sent to China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為), potentially breaching US sanctions, a government official said. The US slapped sanctions on Huawei in 2019, and expanded them the following year, over fears its technology could be used for Beijing’s espionage operations. The restrictions prevent TSMC from selling semiconductors to Huawei. However, TSMC discovered on Oct. 11 that chips made for a “specific customer” had ended up with the Chinese company, a Taiwanese official with knowledge of the incident said on the condition of anonymity. TSMC “immediately activated
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
Shares of Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) surged more than 53 percent on its debut on the Taiwan stock exchange yesterday. Starlux shares closed up 53.75 percent at NT$30.75 from its initial public offering price of NT$20 after retreating in late trading from a 60 percent rise. China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) rose 0.90 percent to close at NT$22.35, while EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) gained 0.40 percent to close at NT$37.70. In Taiwan, a newly listed stock is allowed to go beyond the 10 percent maximum increase or decline in its first five trading sessions. At the listing ceremony, Starlux chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) said
RSS