DMGT.L Share News (DMGT)

(Sharecast News) - Lord Rothermere has been given until the end of October to make a £810m bid for the Daily Mail and General Trust after the Takeover Panel agreed a second extension.
The media group first announced in July that Rothermere Continuation (RCL), which owns around 30% of DMGT, had indicated it was prepared to make a cash offer of 251p per share for the entire share capital it did not own, implying an enterprise value of around £810m.

Under the Takeover Code, RCL had until 9 August to make a firm offer for DMGT or walk away. That deadline was extended in the summer until the end of September, however, and on Thursday the owner of the Daily Mail confirmed it had been extended again until 28 October.

The potential offer is dependent on a number of pre-conditions being met. These included the sale of DMGT's insurance risk division RMS and the successful listing of online car seller Cazoo.

In early August, DMGT struck a deal to sell RMS to ratings agency Moody's for £1.4bn, with the sale completing on 15 September, while Cazoo listed in New York last month via a $8bn merger with special purpose acquisition company Ajax I, raising around $1bn.

However, on Thursday DMGT said that while these two pre-conditions had been met, discussions continued with the trustees of DMGT's three pensions "in respect of the satisfaction of the remaining non-waivable pre-condition".

DMGT and RCL have therefore requested a further extension, which the Takeover Panel has agreed to.

Jersey-registered RCL is the holding company of DMGT's executive chair Jonathan Harmsworth, the viscount Rothermere, who inherited his role on the board and position as controlling shareholder on the death of his father in 1998. Lord Rothermere controls all of the issued voting shares, which means any deal that he backs and is recommended to shareholders will be approved.