Selfridges recommend Weston takeover
Selfridges today announced it is recommending shareholders approve a fresh £598m (€832) takeover bid for the upmarket department store from Canadian billionaire Galen Weston.
Mr Weston, who also owns Brown Thomas, emerged over the weekend as the favourite to win Selfridges’ hand with an offer thought to be worth £570m (€793m).
The company, famous for its flagship store on London’s Oxford Street, confirmed last month that an approach had been made by an unnamed bidder.
The raised offer represents a premium of 60% to Selfridges’ stock market value five weeks ago, when the bidding became public as the company moved to explain a sudden 5% rise in its shares to the London Stock Exchange.
They ended last week at 358p per share, valuing the group at £549m (€764m).
In a statement today, Selfridges chairman Alun Cathcart said the board was recommending that shareholders should accept Mr Weston’s offer.
He said: “The Selfridges board is pleased to recommend an offer for Selfridges that we consider fair and reasonable and which reflects the strength of the business and its prospects.”
Scottish entrepreneur Tom Hunter had earlier been linked to the retailer but is now likely to step aside by the higher bid from Mr Weston’s Whittington Investments.
