US owner of Waterstones tables higher offer for Currys
The US investment group Elliott Advisors has reportedly tabled an improved takeover offer for the UK electrical goods chain Currys, worth as much as £750m, after being rebuffed earlier this month.
Elliott, which owns the book chain Waterstones and has a controlling stake in the food chain Wasabi, raised its offer to between 65p and 70p a share, although this is likely to be rejected again by the Currys board, Sky News reported.
Elliott had tabled an unsolicited £700m bid for the retailer in mid-February, at 62p a share, a 32% premium to its previous share price. The board rejected it, arguing that the offer “significantly undervalued” the business and its future prospects.
Elliott is known as an activist shareholder that has pushed for change at the drugmaker GSK and the housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, and has accumulated high-profile investments such as the Italian football club AC Milan, and also acquired a number of retail businesses through its private equity investment arm.
In 2021, Currys shifted its strategy to merge the four brands it operated – which included PC World, Dixons and Carphone Warehouse – into one master brand.
Currys employs more than 15,000 people in the UK and has about 300 stores. During the pandemic, it closed the 531 Carphone Warehouse stores it owned in the UK, with the loss of 2,900 jobs. In November, the company struck a £175m deal to sell its Greek business.
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Elliott and Currys declined to comment.