* Countrywide shareholders reject Alchemy offer
* Appoints William Hill chief as interim CEO
* Shares fall 3.5%
(Adds details on offers, industry troubles, share move)
By Samantha Machado
Nov 24 (Reuters) - British real estate agent Countrywide
has appointed former William Hill chief Philip
Bowcock as its CEO to lead talks on a new rescue deal, as
shareholders rejected an offer from private equity firm Alchemy
Partners.
The London-based company, one of several agents hurt by a
coronavirus-driven drop in property sales this year, also said
on Tuesday that executive chairman Peter Long had stepped down
from his role and retired as a director with immediate effect.
It said it was considering an amended deal with Alchemy as
one possible capital raising option, along with injections of
cash from existing shareholders and an offer from real estate
management firm Connells Ltd.
On Monday, Connells said that it had completed due diligence
and confirmed its 250 pence per share offer for Countrywide,
arguing that a significantly larger investment was needed than
the 90 million pounds ($120.20 million) proposed by Alchemy.
Connells said that the making of any firm offer was subject
to support from Countrywide's board and shareholders.
Countrywide, which vies for market share with Foxtons
, has been trying to recover from a botched 2015
restructuring that led to four profit warnings and a deeply
discounted share issue three years later.
Its shares, which have recovered some ground in the past few
weeks on signs of a deal, were 3.5% lower at 222 pence by 1025
GMT. Net debt stood at 47.3 million pounds at the end of June.
The interest in the company, which operates 60 high street
brands, including Hamptons International, Bairstow Eves and
Bridgfords, comes just months after rival LSL Property Services
pulled out of talks on a takeover.
The company said that Group Managing Director Paul Creffield
would also leave the company within a year.
($1 = 0.7488 pounds)
(Reporting by Samantha Machado in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick
Graham, Kirsten Donovan)
