INTU.L Share News (INTU)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Retail property investor Hammerson PLC on Monday noted an earlier announcement from France's Klepierre SA, and confirmed it rejected the "unsolicited and entirely opportunistic" takeover approach.

Shares in Hammerson were up 26% at 549.60 pence early Monday.

Klepierre's offer valued Hammerson at 615p per share, a 41% premium to Friday's closing price of 437.00p.

Hammerson - having begun life in the FTSE 250 on Monday after dropping out the FTSE 100 in February's quarterly index review - said it unanimously rejected the proposal on the grounds that it "very significantly undervalues Hammerson, its track record of delivery, the quality of its portfolio, its market positions, and the opportunities it has for future value creation".

The deal would have comprised 50% in new Klepierre shares and 50% in cash. Hammerson said it remains fully committed to its Intu Properties acquisition. Shares in Intu Properties were flat at 204.00p.

"The proposal from Klepierre is wholly inadequate and entirely opportunistic. It is a calculated attempt to exploit the disconnect between our recent share price performance and the inherent value of our unique and irreplaceable portfolio which is delivering record results," said Hammersn Chairman David Tyler.

"Klepierre is asking our shareholders to accept a price for their Hammerson shares which is not only at a significant discount to their book value but includes a large element of paper in a company which in our view has a lower quality portfolio and lower growth prospects," Tyler added.

The board of Hammerson said it "strongly advises" shareholders to take no action.

The proposal price of 615 pence per share represents a "significant discount" of 21% to Hammerson's EPRA NAV per share of 776p as at December 31, the company added.

Hammerson's response comes after Klepierre earlier on Monday, noting press reports, confirmed it made a preliminary approach to acquire the London-listed company.

The Europe-focused shopping centre developer said it made the proposal on March 8 "on a non-adversarial basis to the board of Hammerson with the intention of engaging in a constructive dialogue regarding a possible offer".

With 794.2 million shares in issue, the offer would value Hammerson at around GBP4.88 billion. Based on Friday's closing price, Hammerson had a market capitalisation of GBP3.47 billion.

However, the Hammerson board rejected the proposal "in less than 24 hours" on March 9, Klepierre said.

Klepierre said the proposal does not constitute an offer, and there is no certainty it will make a firm offer to acquire the company, though it has until April 16 to do so under takeover rules.

Klepierre's statement came after the Times on Monday said Klepierre made an approach to takeover Hammerson.