Simon Property bids £3bn for mall owner CSC
Simon Property Group, in a struggle for control over Capital Shopping Centres, has proposed a 425 pence per share offer valuing the British mall owner at about £3bn.
The offer was at a seven percent premium to CSC’s closing price on Tuesday and a premium of 16 per cent to a separate deal in which CSC wants to issue shares to acquire the Trafford Centre shopping mall, Simon Property said.
“We should work together to announce a recommended offer, and would urge you to listen to calls from your shareholders — many of whom we have spoken to — opposing the Trafford Centre transaction or asking you to adjourn your forthcoming EGM,” Simon Property said in a letter to CSC’s board.
Peel Group, set to take a near 20 percent stake in CSC through its sale of the Trafford Centre mall in Manchester, had said on Monday the deal was for a long-term investment in CSC, and not for cash.
The Trafford deal will be subject to a shareholder vote on 20 December.