The Qatari-Canadian consortium seeking to wrestle control of Canary Wharf has urged investors to accept a £2.6 billion takeover bid, declaring that the property estate’s tangled structure needs tidying up.
The joint bidders stalking Songbird Estates — the majority owner of Canary Wharf Group — published an offer document yesterday detailing the full terms of their £3.50-a-share bid.
In it, Qatar Investment Authority and Brookfield Group, of Canada, reiterated that their offer provided “an attractive opportunity for Songbird shareholders to realise, in cash at a premium, their investment in a highly illiquid stock, which has not paid a dividend over the past five years”.
They also said that a £2.6 billion takeover would provide a way of simplifying Songbird and Canary Wharf Group’s complex shareholder