Forth Ports’ directors should be preparing for a long siege after rejecting the Northstream consortium’s £612m bid, says the Financial Times.
Northstream includes Peel Holdings, headed by John Whittaker, who is the subject of the newspaper’s Power Player column. The article says Whittaker is known for his motto “determination, perseverance and patience” and he rarely takes no for an answer.
UBS believes an offer of at least £15 a share would be necessary for a successful deal. Arbuthnot believes valuing Forth is particularly difficult because numerous assets of potentially significant value have little or no relation to the cash flows currently being generated from them.
The Times profiles Charles Hammond, Forth Ports chief executive, in its Business big shot column. Forth closed up 25.6 per cent at £14.03.
09/03/10 Financial Times 20, 36
Times 36
Daily Telegraph B9
Guardian 26
Independent 46
