Canary Wharf takeover tussle begins

Songbird Estates, parent company of Canary Wharf Group plc, has revealed that Qatar Investment Authority and Brookfield Property Partners have made a preliminary joint approach expressing an interest in formulating an offer for the company.

However, the board has rejected the initial 295p per share offer, which valued the business at £2.2bn.

The Qatari company already owns 28.6% of Songbird Estates and Brookfield has 22% of Canary Wharf Group.

The other major shareholders are from the USA and China: Simon Glick (25%), China’s Investment Corporation/Land Breeze (15.8%), Morgan Stanley (8.53%), Third Avenue Management (3.2%).

Songbird said that its board had reviewed the proposal with its advisers and "unanimously concluded to reject the proposal on the grounds that it materially undervalues Songbird".

Chairman David Pritchard said: "This proposal significantly undervalues Songbird and does not reflect the inherent value of the business and its underlying assets. The group has an exceptional management team with a clear vision to deliver additional shareholder value, including from our 11 million square foot development pipeline, the largest in London."

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