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On the first day of what was set to be a five day auction process to determine a successful bidder between Canadian security company GardaWorld company and rival Allied Universal (see also Takeover Panel to hold auction for G4S), GardaWorld has it will not be increasing its offer and will be sticking with its previous offer of £3.68 bn, with founder Stephan Crétier stating, ‘we will not overpay for a company with systemic ESG issues that continue to come to light’. The announcement follows several months of GardaWorld’s heated hostile takeover attempt for G4S, with both companies making jabs at one another.

Crétier maintained that GardaWorld would be the best owner for G4S, stating it had the ‘skills, expertise and ambition to take on the challenges that G4S faces’.  He went on to point out that GardaWorld have been unable to complete the necessary due diligence due to a lack of engagement by G4S, and ‘there are better and less risky opportunities available to GardaWorld’. The announcement saw G4S’s share price drop almost 10% to 242.6 pence per share – the lowest it has been since Allied Universal announced a competing bid for G4S in December.

Following this, Allied Universal it will also be sticking to its original recommended cash offer of £3.8 bn for G4S. In order to increase deal certainty, Allied Universal has also lowered its acceptance condition from 90%, now requiring shareholders representing 75% of the G4S’s share capital to accept the offer of 245 pence per share. GardaWorld would only require a simple majority in order for its acceptance condition to be reached.

G4S its continued support for the Allied Universal offer in a statement on 23 February 2021, stating that ‘the price of the Final Allied Universal Offer is superior to the price of the Final GardaWorld Offer’. The board have unanimously recommended the Allied Universal offer, urging shareholders to accept the offer as soon as possible.

Shareholders will have un 16 March 2021 to accept Allied Universal’s proposal.

Market Tracker will continue to monitor this transaction as it develops.