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Wincanton on Monday afternoon confirmed GXO Logistics Inc, the owner of Clipper Logistics, as a third party interested in taking over Wincanton.
Earlier on Monday, Sky News said GXO, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based contract logistics company, was plotting to buy Wincanton in a move that would threaten a rival takeover bid by a French competitor.
Sky had said it was unclear whether a takeover of Wincanton by GXO, which bought Clipper Logistics in the UK in a deal worth £1 billion in 2022, would face serious competition hurdles.
Wincanton said: ‘Although GXO has indicated that it is considering making a proposal for a cash offer, as of the date of this announcement, it has not provided the board of Wincanton with any formal proposal relating to a possible offer, including as to terms or price. If any such proposal is provided by GXO the board of Wincanton will carefully consider its terms, in conjunction with its advisers.’
It added that it continued to unanimously recommend the final cash offer by CEVA Logistics UK Rose Ltd.
Earlier, Wincanton said it had accepted an increased bid from CEVA Logistics UK Rose, and disclosed a further approach had been received from an unnamed third party.
The new offer from CEVA, worth 480 pence per share, values Wincanton at £604.7 million on a fully diluted basis, and indicates an enterprise value of around £802.7 million.
The Wiltshire, England-based logistics provider noted this represented a premium of 6.7% to CEVA’s original bid of 450p per share, made in January.
CEVA is a subsidiary of CMA CGM, a shipping and logistics company based in Marseille, France.
Shares in Wincanton jumped 12% to 503.15p in London on Monday, well above the revised offer level.
Wincanton said it considers the revised bid terms to be ‘fair and reasonable’, and unanimously recommended that shareholders accept.
Wincanton also disclosed it had received an approach from a potential competing bidder, which it didn’t name.
But the company said no formal proposal has yet been received, including terms or price.
Wincanton said the scheme of arrangement by which a bid by CEVA for Wincanton will be facilitated would be discussed at a general meeting on March 13.
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