Hargreaves Lansdown has rejected a 4.67 billion pound ($5.94 billion) takeover proposal from a consortium led by CVC Advisers and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), after the board of the investment platform said it “substantially” undervalued its prospects.
In a statement, Hargreaves Lansdown said its board had unanimously rejected the offer, the latest in a series of approaches—the most recent of which reflected a price of 985 pence a share, the company said.
“This news may give the shares further positive momentum, and indeed buoy the peer group further, too,” analysts at Jefferies said in a note on Wednesday, when the consortium’s interest first broke.
“We remain positive on Hargreaves in the longer term, with demographic pressures easing, a cogent investment plan for the business in place, and some arguments against its prospects misplaced, in our view,” the note said.
The consortium has until June 19 to announce a firm intention to make an offer or walk away.
Reuters