Picks And Mix Kings Reject Takeover Offer
News that the directors of Woolworths have rejected an offer for the retail division will set the rumour mill rolling when markets open on Monday morning. The bid came from a consortium headed by Icelandic Group Baugur which has a number of operations in the UK after a very aggressive buying spree over the last decade. So what was on offer and why was it rejected?
If successful the offer would have seen Malcolm Walker, the chief exec of Iceland frozen foods, take on the role of leading the retail division out of its current doom and gloom. While Woolworths is still one of the best known names on the high street it has failed to keep pace with changes in the market and suffered at the hands of groups such as Argos.
It seems as though the reason the offer was rejected out of hand was the fact the consortium wanted to separate the retail division from the rest of Woolworths, but leave the net debt and pension fund deficit with the parent group. There also seems to have been some disagreement about the level of debt which should be attributed to the property leases which are owned by the parent group as oppose to the retail division.
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