Mouchel tanks after rejecting two bidders
MOUCHEL’S shares tanked yesterday after it announced it has rejected overtures from two possible buyers.
Rival Interserve and construction firm Costain were both kicked to the curb by the Mouchel board, wiping £60m off its already battered market cap – more than a third of its value.
Mouchel said it rejected the offer from Interserve, which valued the firm at 135p a share, because it undervalued the business. It rejected Costain because it said there was too much execution risk.
The company said: “the board has decided it is not in shareholders’ interests to proceed with any further discussions with Interserve or Costain.”
Mouchel also announced its first-half revenues slipped 13 per cent to £270.3m, with underlying profits falling 73 per cent to just £4.1m. It pointed to the hammering it has taken as a result of government spending cuts. The firm will not pay a dividend. Its shares closed 31.4 per cent lower at 101.26p yesterday.