Shawbrook to reject BC, Pollen Street's £868m take-private bid

Pollen Street and BC submitted a 340 pence per share final offer for the bank on 5 June after a previous bid of 330 pence per share was rejected by shareholders. Shares in the group were trading at 338 pence apiece at the time of publication.

The latest offer would value the business at £868m, though the group of independent directors said in a statement that this "undervalues Shawbrook and its prospects". However, in a boost to the prospective acquirers, the proposed takeover was granted competition clearance from the European Commission on 2 June.

The latest bid is the third made by the two private equity investors since the beginning of 2017. In January, the pair submitted a bid based on a 307 pence share price, which was also rejected by the board at the time.

Pollen Street – then known as Special Opportunities Fund – first invested in Shawbrook in 2011, which was known as Whiteaway Laidlaw Bank at the time.

Shawbrook listed in London in April 2015; its IPO gave it a market cap of £725m. The listing saw shares priced at 290 pence apiece, raising gross proceeds of £90m for the company. Following admission, Pollen Street remained Shawbrook's largest shareholder with a 59% stake. The GP currently owns 38.8% of the bank.

Shawbrook is a lending and savings bank for SMEs. The business provides commercial mortgages, asset finance, business credit, secured lending and consumer lending. In its 2016 results, Shawbrook announced a 14% increase in profit before tax to £91.4m.

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• UK / Ireland
• Financials
• United Kingdom
• BC Partners
• Take Private