Exel could face counter bid to Deutsche Post’s agreed takeover
Deutsche Post AG’s agreed 5.5 bln eur (3.7 bln stg) cash and shares takeover of Exel PLC could be scuppered by rival bids, with American giants United Parcel Service Inc and/or Fedex Corp tipped to spoil the party. Although both Deutsche Post and Exel have agreed a 37.4 mln stg penalty if either side walks away from the recommended offer, the UK group’s board, led by chairman Nigel Rich, has a fiduciary duty to consider any other offers. The German group’s recommended bid is pitched at 12.44 stg a share – 9.0 stg (some 73 pct) in cash with the balance in Deutsche Post shares. Some analysts believe the equity element to the offer could be the deal’s Achilles heel. ‘Despite a mix-and-match agreement potentially watering down the share element for some Exel shareholders, we suspect this will be unpopular and leave the door open to a cash offer from UPS,’ said Alastair Gunn, analyst at Arbuthnot. He reckons major shareholders will likely sit tight until the intentions of UPS, which has reportedly appointed Goldman Sachs to look into the logic of a counter offer, are better known.
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