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Green bid rejected
by: Leslie Bunder - Last updated: 2004-06-04
Philip Green
Billionaire retail tycoon Philip Green who owns BHs and the Arcadia chain of clothing businesses has had his initial offer for high street retailer Marks and Spencer rejected by the board.
But the Marks and Spencer board hit back saying in a statement: "The board considers that the proposal significantly undervalues the group and its prospects and therefore rejects the proposal."
According to city analysts, the offer is worth around £9 billion with Green himself putting in just over £1 billion of his own personal wealth but is not enough to tempt existing shareholders to sell out to Green.
Some analysts say Green will have to up his offer to atleast £10bn and possibly even as much as £12bn for a deal to go through.
Even if Green gets his proposal considered, he has requested a number of conditions that need to be satisfied. These included assurances about the state of the current Marks and Spencer pension fund, details of the relationship with fashion designer George Davies who is responsible for the Per Una range and information about the Simply Food division.
In order to defend its position, Marks and Spencer has appointed new executives with former Arcadia boss Stuart Rose becoming chief executive earlier this week.
