P.M. BRIEFING : Extension Asked in BAT Takeover
LONDON — Sir James Goldsmith, one of the three financiers leading the hostile takeover bid for BAT Industries PLC, said today a British regulatory panel must extend its deadline or his takeover attempt will fail.
Britain’s Panel on Takeovers and Mergers requires that all conditions of a bid, including U.S. regulatory hurdles, must be completed within 81 days of the posting of the bidder’s formal offer document.
“If there is no extension from the panel it’s very hard to see the offer succeeding,†Goldsmith said.
Goldsmith’s consortium, Hoylake Investments Ltd., posted its $21.4-billion bid for BAT and its U.S. subsidiaries Aug. 8, which leaves the group 58 days to meet U.S. regulatory requirements.
London-based BAT, the world’s largest tobacco company, has significant interests in financial services, paper and retailing--including such U.S. holdings as Farmers Insurance Group and the Saks Fifth Avenue and Marshall Field department stores.
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