Housebuilder accepts 拢715m takeover from consortium led by HBOS and Sir Tom Hunter

Housebuilder Crest Nicholson has accepted a long-awaited 拢715m takeover bid from the Castle Bidco consortium led by HBOS and Scottish entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter.

The consortium had been given a 鈥榩ut up or shut up鈥� deadline of 5pm yesterday, but negotiated a further 24 hours in which to make the deal.

Sir Tom Hunter

The deal is worth 620p a share with the right to retain a dividend of 9.7p a share.

Crest Nicholson chairman John Matthews said: 鈥淭he acquisition represents good and certain cash value for Crest Nicholson shareholders and reflects fairly the company's current prospects.鈥�

The housebuilder rejected an earlier bid worth 拢660m from Castle Bidco in December. It posted a 2% rise in pre-tax profit to 拢80m in January, accompanied by a 1.2% dip in turnover to 拢690.7m.

Last September, Castle Bidco bought retirement home specialist McCarthy & Stone for 拢1.1bn. It put a 拢2bn bid in for housebuilder Wilson Bowden in February, but lost out to Barratt.

The Crest Nicholson bid still has to be approved by holders of 75% of the shares, although Castle Bidco already owns 23% of the company.

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