Takeover drama at Currys cools as US bidder walks away after cut-price bid of £742million
THE takeover drama at Currys cooled yesterday as US bidder Elliott Advisors walked away.
It had tried to take the fridges-to-computers electrical chain private with a cut-price bid of £742million.
But Currys snubbed that saying the 67p-a-share offer “significantly undervalued the company and its prospects”.
The investment firm — which owns bookshop Waterstones and a stake in noodle chain Wasabi — implied Currys refused to open the door for talks.
Elliott suggested the chain failed to allow access to its figures leaving it unable “to make a better offer on the basis of public information available”.
Shares in Currys fell by as much as 11 per cent on Elliott’s retreat but recovered to close down 7.47 per cent, or 4.82p, to 59.68p.
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Peel Hunt analysts said they thought a board would only engage with a bid at 80p a share.
They highlighted that Currys still has takeover interest from Chinese online giant JD.COM which has a deadline of next Monday to make a bid or walk away.
This is known as a “pusu” — a “put up or shut up”.
Currys’ biggest shareholder Redwheel backed the board’s decision to reject Elliott’s bid — and said it highlighted a “wider problem with the UK equity market”.
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Pockets of it are valued “significantly below the true value of the businesses”.
Currys was formed in 2014 in a £3.8billion merger between Carphone Warehouse and Dixons Retail.
It went back to its roots and renamed itself Currys after founder Henry Curry, who started the business in 1884 as a bike and gramophone retailer.
It made £9.5billion sales last year and upgraded profit forecasts to £115million.
Its share price suffered as the lockdown boom in office equipment faded.
Hornby hot rods
HORNBY, the model train maker that counts Rod Stewart and Jools Holland as fans, has struck a deal to buy The Corgi Model Club.
The Club offers members who sign up to a monthly subscription reissued models of Corgi diecast cars, including a miniature version of James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5.
Hornby said it would add £2million of revenue a year to its business and more than 6,000 active subscribers.
It is paying up to £600,000 to acquire the business from entrepreneur Jim Lewcock.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is now the third biggest investor in the model train maker.
Bitcoin's surge on new rule
THE price of Bitcoin surged past a £55,000 all-time high as the digital currency rallied by 70 per cent this year.
It jumped after the US allowed institutional investors to use exchange traded funds.
London Stock Exchange yesterday said it would accept requests to trade crypto-backed notes that way for the first time.
It means pension funds can invest in assets linked to crypto currencies, tracking the rise and fall of digital coins.
But the financial watchdog will still bar individuals from exchange traded crypto products because “cryptoassets are high risk and largely unregulated”.
The Financial Conduct Authority believes crypto exchange traded notes are “ill-suited for retail consumers due to the harm they pose”.
It warned: “Those who invest should be prepared to lose all their money.”
The last crypto rally was followed by dramatic crashes.
Firms in hire halt
have fallen at their fastest rate since 2021 as firms put hiring freezes in place to tackle rising costs.
Demand for permanent staff dropped last month, according to a survey by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Conferderation (REC).
Temporary vacancies also fell for the first time in three and half years.
Wage rises are now at the slowest pace for three years.
The Bank of England has said it was concerned about rises fuelling inflation.
Ghoulies bump up lingerie
SALES at rose after shoppers returned to its stores for saucy Halloween outfits and role-play costumes.
The lingerie retailer said sales jumped 4.5 per cent to £104.6million in the past 12 months.
It was also helped by extending its clothing range to dresses, skirts and leggings.
The business has recently launched speedy sex toy and lingerie deliveries through Deliveroo.
But its accounts reveal its online sales were hit last year after Google ramped up security controls — blocking adults from seeing its website unless they had entered their age.
Losses at the retailer — which restructured two years ago to cut its rent bill — have narrowed from £21.9million to £3.8million.
It now plans to open more stores.
The results come a year after founder Jacqueline Gold died and her sister Vanesa was appointed executive chair.
PRIMARK has become the latest retailer to bump wages in the battle to keep staff.
Its workers will receive a minimum £12 an hour — up from £11 — and a 15 per cent store discount.
London staff will receive £12.56 an hour — a 9 per cent rise on £11.51.
Vanquis shock in markets
SHARES in Vanquis Banking Group, formerly known as Provident Financial, halved in value on the back of a shock profit warning.
The share fall values the company at £318.5million after it said profits would be “substantially lower” than forecast.
Vanquis said that it was having to spend more on administration after a high volume of customer complaints — although it said the majority of these were not upheld.
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The financial watchdog launched an investigation into the market to test whether drivers were being ripped off on car finance.
Boss Ian MacLaughlin said the company had “short term challenges to address but remain confident that the group’s new strategy will deliver good outcomes”.