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Articles: Green given deadline for M&S bid

Posted by admin on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 01:35 AM

The UK's Takeover Panel has given entrepreneur Philip Green until midday on 6 August to make a formal offer for High Street retailer Marks & Spencer.
Since May, Mr Green has made two informal offers to M&S - both of which were rejected by the group's board. His last £8.4bn bid was still below the £9bn shareholders are believed to want. The panel's announcement came as trustees of M&S's pension board are set to hold talks about how to respond to an invitation to meet Mr Green. In a statement to the stock market, the Panel said both M&S and Mr Green had agreed to the decision. Pressure "No extension to the deadline will be granted, except with the consent of panel executive," it added. If Mr Green fails to submit a bid by the deadline he will be out of the running for the takeover for six months. The regulator's decision to hurry things along was taken after pressure from M&S. Mr Green has long signalled his desire to take over the retailer through his bid vehicle Revival Acquisitions. He has been seeking financial information from the firm, but his requests have so far been denied because his offers have been rejected. However, in an effort to bypass the board Mr Green has sought to meet the group's pension trustees to seek clarification of M&S's liabilities, which could affect his offer. Pensions question The trustees, led by David Norgrove - former head of clothing at M&S - act independently of the firm. Pension fund worries could make a big difference to any bid for M&S. Last month Permira's bid for WH Smith was derailed by demands for a substantial payment to help make up its pension fund deficit. The latest annual report from M&S showed that its pension fund was facing a £470m deficit at the beginning of April, despite putting £400m into the fund earlier in the year. Many company pension funds have been hit by falling values in recent years as a result of the downturn in stock prices.

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