By Ed Ballard
LONDON--Qatar's sovereign wealth fund and Canadian investors
Brookfield Property Partners LP are set to gain control of London's
Canary Wharf business district in a deal worth GBP2.6 billion
($3.94 billion).
The likely acquisition comes after the biggest shareholders in
Songbird Estates PLC, which holds a 69% stake in Canary Wharf
Group, decided to back a joint takeover offer from Qatar Investment
Authority and Brookfield.
QIA, which already holds 29% of Songbird, made a 350
pence-a-share offer for the property company in December. While
Songbird's board resisted the offer, its shareholders appear to be
willing to sell.
"It is now the board's understanding that each of the major
shareholders intends to accept the offer," Songbird said
Wednesday.
The success of the bid rested on whether Songbird's other three
major shareholders--U.S. investor Simon Glick, China Investment
Corp. and Morgan Stanley, which control almost 80% of the company
together with the QIA--would accept the offer before Thursday's
deadline.
Songbird has said it thinks the bid undervalues Canary Wharf's
pipeline of new office and residential developments and has sought
to attract a better offer.
However, it said Wednesday that while it had held discussions
with a number of parties, a higher offer hasn't been forthcoming
and doesn't think it will receive a better bid by Thursday's offer
for shareholders to accept the offer from QIA and Brookfield.
Write to Ed Ballard at ed.ballard@wsj.com
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