Forth Ports agrees £760m takeover by Arcus

Forth Ports, the largest port owner and operator in Scotland, has a agreed to a £760m takeover offer from its largest shareholder, Arcus European Infrastructure Fund, The Telegraph reports.


The £16.30-a-shares deal was announced alongside full-year results which showed a 20pc rise in pre-tax profits to £56.3m on revenue up 5pc to £181.9m.


Forth Ports shareholders will also receive a 20p a share final dividend.


"The Arcus offer gives Forth Ports shareholders the opportunity to realise their investment for cash at a fair price," David Richardson, the chairman of Forth Ports, said in a statement.


Arcus acquired its 23.5pc from the now defunct asset manager Babcock & Brown. The company was the lead player in the Northstream consortium that last year saw three attempts to buy Forth rebuffed.
Forth Ports owns and operates five ports on the Firth of Forth - Leith, Grangemouth, Methil, Burntisland and Rosyth - as well as Dundee on the River Tay and Tilbury on the River Thames.


Within and around the Firths of Forth and Tay, Forth Ports manages and operates an area of 280 square miles of navigable waters, including two specialised marine terminals for oil and gas export and provides other marine services, such as towage and conservancy.


The Group also has significant property interests as well as renewable energy projects where the Group is looking to gain planning approval for onshore wind installations and biomass facilities in its ports in Scotland.


The company said that although economic conditions remain challenging in the UK, trading in the first two months had been encouraging.


Shares in Forth Ports, which have risen 12pc in the last month, closed at £16.14p on Monday, valuing the business at around £735m.
If the deal is completed, Forth will follow P&O, Mersey Docks, Associated British Ports, PD Ports and Simon Group off the market.
(Source:http://en.portnews.ru)