Schroders drops stake in Wellstream after GE bid
SCHRODERS has sold around half its stake in oil and gas pipeline company Wellstream after it rejected a take over offer from US conglomerate GE of $1.2bn (£755m) earlier this month.
The fund manager has been reducing its stake from just over 13 per cent at the beginning of October to a little under seven per cent now.
Wellstream’s largest investor has been selling aggressively as the oil and gas firm’s shares rose to highs of 785p following confirmation of the 750p-a-share approach from GE – a process called “top-slicing” where traditional investors trim holdings during a takeover tussle to lock in gains.
It is understood that Wellstream’s chairman John Kennedy, has pressed GE to raise its offer closer to 800p per share in order to gain access to its books. That would value the company at £805m.