London: Shares in Hyder, the Welsh utility, continued to rise early on Friday as the deadline for competing bids scheduled for later in the day drew near. Hyder stock rose by four pence to 385 pence as the 1400 GMT deadline drew near. Hyder is currently the subject of fierce bidding by Nomura, the Japanese investment bank, and the US firm Western Power Distribution.On Wednesday, Nomura raised its bid after WPD had itself raised its offer and won the acceptance of the Hyder board. But as the bids grew, British regulators said that enough was enough, that after almost four months of takeover moves one of the bidders would have to come up with hard cash rather than promises for Hyder shareholders.
The Takeover Panel watchdog said that if either group wanted to make one more bid, it would have to be in a sealed envelope and would be the last approach.
Analysts said that such a process often prompts one competitor to pay well over the odds for its target, while one party often withdraws from the contest.
So far, Nomura's bid vehicle, St David's Capital, has lifted its bid for Hyder to 360 pence per share, valuing the group at 557 million pounds ($835.5 million, 880 million euros). The announcement followed recommendation by the Hyder board on Monday that shareholders accept a 340 pence per share cash offer from WPD.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.