Crest Nicholson Shares Dive as Bellway Retreats From Takeover Bid

Alliance News 13 August, 2024 | 2:31PM
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Housing stock image money

Crest Nicholson (CRST) and Bellway (BWY) on Tuesday both announced that the latter does not intend to make a firm offer for its fellow FTSE 250-listed housebuilder.

Newcastle-based Bellway made its first all-share takeover approach in late April, offering 0.089 shares per Crest Nicholson share. Surrey-based Crest Nicholson rejected this proposal in May, and later rejected a revised offer of 0.093 Bellway shares.

In July, Bellway submitted a revised proposal offering Crest Nicholson's shareholders 0.099 shares in Bellway for each share they own, as well as a 4 pence per share dividend. The proposal at the time valued each Crest share at 273p.

Crest Nicholson shares dropped 16% to 221.00p on Tuesday afternoon in London. Shares in Bellway, however, rose 3.3% to 2,910.00p each.

On July 10, Crest Nicholson said it was minded to accept the revised bid proposal, which would see its shareholders owning 18% of the enlarged group's share capital.

On Tuesday, however, Bellway confirmed that it did not intend to make a firm offer for Crest.

Bellway commented that it "remains confident that its robust balance sheet and operational strength, combined with the depth and quality of its land bank, will enable Bellway to deliver volume growth in the years ahead and support ongoing value creation for shareholders".

Shortly afterwards, Crest noted that Bellway's proposals were "unsolicited", adding that it "remains confident in its standalone prospects, in particular given [the] conclusion of the review of provisions for completed development sites supported by external consultants, its highly attractive land portfolio and the new leadership of Martyn Clark."

Chief executive officer Martyn Clark joined Crest in June, having previously spent nine years at Persimmon PLC, where he became chief commercial officer in 2022.

By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter 

Subscribe to Our Newsletters

Sign up Now

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

About Author

Alliance News  provides Morningstar with continuously updating coverage of news affecting listed companies.

© Copyright 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Terms of Use        Privacy Policy        Modern Slavery Statement        Cookie Settings        Disclosures