Two huge bids launched in Britain
PA London Two huge take-over bids, together valued at more than £3OOO million, (SNZ7B3O million), were launched in the City yesterday. Supermarkets-to-drinks group Argyll fired off a hostile £1864 million ($4865 million) offer for Distillers, the Johnnie Walker whisky and Gordons gin group. At the same time the tobacco-based Imperial Group announced terms of an agreed merger with United Biscuits — the McVitie’s biscuits and Terry’s chocolate company — which values UB about £1220 million ($3184 million).
The Argyll bid, the largest yet seen in Britain, is certain, to provoke fierce resistance from Distillers. The company said in advance of the terms that the likely offer price of around £5.10 ($13.31) a share was well below what it believed the company was worth. Argyll is offering a combination of its own shares and cash valuing Distillers shares at £5.13 ($13.38) each, backed by an all-cash alternative of £4.85 ($12.65) a share. The bid from Argyll came alongside results from the group which showed pre-tax profits up by more than £6 million ($15.6 million)
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Press, 4 December 1985, Page 42
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177Two huge bids launched in Britain Press, 4 December 1985, Page 42
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