Forth shares up on takeover bid

The value of Forth Ports, the London stock exchange quoted operator of a string of Scottish ports as well as Tilbury on the River Thames soared following a takeover approach.

A financial consortium revealed it held a 27.4% stake in Forth Ports and was offering to acquire the balance of the shares.

The share price of Forth Ports is soaring despite the takeover offer being rejected.

The consortium initially offered £12.85 per share with a second offer raising the bid to £13.40 per share.

The share price of Forth Ports rose £2.66 this morning to £13.86 a share lifting the notional value of the company to some $967m

Forth Ports operates Grangemouth a container and dry cargo port on the Firth of Forth, Dundee specialising in forest products and offshore support services as well as other Scottish ports such as Burntisland, Methil, Leith and Rosyth.

The port of Tilbury is London’s main maritime gateway with a container terminal and other facilities handling a diverse range of bulk and other commodities.

Forth Ports has been in talks with the consortium for some time but was triggered into an announcement by the Northsteam takeover consortium revealing its bid.

The Northstream partners consist of the Arcus European Infrastructure Fund Peel, Holdings Limited and the RREEF Pan-European Infrastructure Fund

The unlisted Arcus European Infrastructure Fund has backing from 40 international institutional investors. Peel Holdings is an established player in the UK ports sector with interests in Liverpool, the Medway ports and Clydeport as well as the Manchester Ship Canal. RREEF, part of Deutsche Bank's Asset Management division, is an existing business partner of Peel.

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