By Elliot Gulliver-Needham
Currys has rejected a £700m takeover bid from feared activist investor Elliott Investment Management.
Yesterday, the electronics retailer said it had received an “unsolicited, preliminary and conditional proposal from Elliott”.
This would have involved a cash offer for the entire firm at 62p per share, making the full offer for the firm total to about £700m.
Currys closed on Friday at 47.1p per share, valuing the business at £534m, but this time last year, the firm’s stock price sat at 75p per share.
The board said it considered the proposal with its financial advisers and concluded it “significantly undervalued the company and its prospects”, unanimously rejecting it.
Elliott is now forced to either announce a firm intention to make an offer or say it does not intend to make an offer, according to the UK Takeover Code.
The New York-headquartered hedge fund, run by Paul Singer, has built a name for its hostile activist campaigns against companies such as GSK and SSE.
The hedge fund bought Waterstones in 2018 for an undisclosed amount, and also has a stake in Foyles.
Currys dropped the PC World from its name in 2021, after absorbing the firm along with Dixons and Carphone Warehouse, and has 300 UK stores that employ over 15,000 people.
As well as the Currys stores here, the business trades under the Elkjøp brand in the Nordic region, and last year announced a deal to sell its Greek business for £175m.
