(Alliance News) - Pollen Street Secured Lending PLC on Tuesday said it has been granted more time to complete a takeover by Waterfall Asset Management LLC.
Pollen Street, which invests in credit assets from non-bank lending platforms, said in late February it was in talks over a possible 900 pence per share bid from Waterfall.
Pollen Street shares were 5.0% higher on Tuesday morning in London at 480.00p each.
Waterfall has until 1700 GMT on Tuesday to either back away or make a firm bid, but the Panel on Takeovers & Mergers has agreed to extend this to 1700 GMT on April 21.
"The terms of any offer remain subject to discussion and to the completion of due diligence by Waterfall. The board has not yet been able to provide due diligence information requested by Waterfall although some progress has been made in this regard and this continues to be a key focus for the board," said Pollen Street.
"Waterfall has indicated that it remains committed to pursuing the possible offer, and the board is continuing to make every effort to progress the possible offer in the interests of shareholders. There can be no certainty that a firm offer will be made, nor as to the price or the terms on which any offer might be made."
In its own statement, Waterfall said it remains committed to a possible cash offer despite the uncertainty caused by Covid-19.
"Waterfall has been supportive of the actions taken to date by the board of Pollen Street and will continue to support the board's attempts to retrieve Pollen Street information in order to allow the parties to advance the possible cash offer and provide an opportunity to Pollen Street's shareholders to decide on the merits of the proposal," Waterfall said.
In early March, Pollen Street said it was mulling legal action against its investment manager PSC Credit Holdings LLP, accusing it of deliberately withholding information needed for proper due diligence to be carried out by Waterfall.
At the same time as announcing the possible offer in late February, Pollen Street gave PSC 12 months' notice that their relationship was to end.
PSC in late February said it was "deeply disappointed" by Pollen Street's decision to end the agreement. It said Waterfall's due diligence request was "unusually extensive" for a public takeover offer and was concerned over whether making such information available was in the interests of Pollen Street shareholders.
Since then, PSC has urged Pollen Street shareholders to make changes to the Pollen Street board.
By George Collard; georgecollard@alliancenews.com
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