MORE than 120,000 shareholders in Thus have accepted the 180p-a-share takeover offer from Cable & Wireless, which analysts said was now a done deal.
London-based C&W, which tabled a £329 million offer for Glasgow-based Thus last month, said yesterday that shareholders representing 42.2 per cent of Thus had accepted its offer as of 1pm on Tuesday.
When C&W announced it planned to make the offer
, at the end of June, it immediately began buying shares, building a 29.9 per cent stake within hours, meaning it now effectively controls 72.1 per cent of the Scots firm.
C&W has said it wants to gain acceptance from 100 per cent of shareholders. However, once it has crossed the 90 per cent threshold it can force the remainder to sell.
Analysts said that, with many institutions holding off until the last minute to act, the current acceptance level is high. Mike Jeremy at Daniel Stewart said the deal appeared to be all but done.
"Clearly no 'white knight' has appeared and the board of Thus has failed to convince shareholders of the validity of its asset-backed valuation; C&W has succeeded in its offer," Jeremy said.
C&W yesterday extended the offer to 26 August, and urged shareholders who had not yet accepted to do so "as soon as possible". Spun out of ScottishPower, Thus has more than 300,000 shareholders.
A spokesman for C&W declined to comment on whether it believed the deal would succeed.
Thus rejected an initial, indicative approach at 165p, and put the 180p bid to shareholders without a recommendation whether or not to accept it.
The company is believed to have unsuccessfully sought for a rival prepared to pay more for the company. Shares in Thus rose 1p to 178.25p.
The full article contains 316 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
