Hong Kong investor Samuel Tak Lee has tabled an offer to buy nearly £230m of shares in the West End property company Shaftesbury.
Lee offered the board 888p a share – a lucky number in Chinese culture – for just under 26m shares. This would take his holdings to more than 13.2%, up from the 3.9% he has held since December last year.
Lee’s offer will sit on the table for 21 days from the date it was made – 13 July – during which time the board will talk to existing shareholders to gauge interest in the deal.
The price offered by Lee is a discount to the current trading price of 916p and it is therefore expected there will be minimal take-up on the offer as a result.
Lee built up a stake in the company to about 5% last autumn, but sold down much of his investment at the end of 2014 taking it to its current level.
This latest move is believed to be a signal of intent by Lee to build an even bigger stake over the longer term.
Shaftesbury is seen as an attractive target because of its 580 restaurant and shops in Covent Garden and Soho.
