Minerva agrees takeover, Westfield consults on White City extension
Minerva has agreed to a takeover by Jamie Ritblat’s Delancy and US company Area Property Partners, reports The Times today. The buyers are paying 120.5p per share in a deal that values Minerva at £202.6m.
The paper notes that Delancy and Area Property Partners took a 12.5% stake in Minerva earlier in June, in an attempt to protect themselves against a possible rival bid approach from Apollo and Orion Capital Partners. Their intentions remain unclear, it adds.
Chairman Oliver Whitehead said in a statement announcing the agreed takeover that, following an “extensive” auction process the board had concluded that this offer was the most attractive proposal and provided “certain value” for shareholders in Minerva.
Meanwhile the Telegraph reports that Westfield has started a consultation process with local residents in West London regarding a proposed £1bn extension to its White City shopping centre. The plans include 1,700 homes and 500,000 sq ft of new retail space, including a department store which John Lewis is the early favourite to occupy, the paper says. The development will be “phased over time”, it notes.
