Colliers International has confirmed that it has received a takeover approach from its 30% shareholder, FirstService.
The UK division of the firm said the approach may or may not lead to an offer for the listed company, adding: “There can be no certainty that these discussions will result in an offer for the ordinary shares in the company.”
It said that the approach represents a discount to the current share price which is currently around 1p.
The Canadian firm has until 5pm on 21 February 2012 to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Colliers International UK, or announce that it does not intend to make an offer, although the deadline could be extended.
Colliers has been undergoing a restructure following the injection of £9m from FirstService in 2009 and the departure of former chief -executive David Izett in 2010.
The business has been loss-making for three years and has a market cap of just £1.5m. It is due to repay some £18m of debt this September.
Colliers’ current chief executive, ex-Jones Lang LaSalle director Tony Horrell, has been on the offensive, trying to boost the company’s headcount by hiring a raft of big names from across the industry over recent months.
Yesterday he was due to meet with Douglas Frye, president and chief executive of FirstService, who is set to reveal plans for the business.
bridget.o’connell@estatesgazette.com
