Frasers’ increased offer for Mulberry may well founder upon the blocking stake held by Challice but ABC Technologies seems to be winning over the board of TI Fluid Systems with its higher bid.
Both approaches suggest that trade buyers think there is value to be had in the UK equity market – a message that stock market investors still seem a bit reluctant to heed, judging by how the leading indices are paddling sideways again.
The premium offered by Frasers relative to the undisturbed share price of Mulberry now stands at 28%, and ABC feels able to go to a 37% premium and still generate a fair return on its investment.
Even they pale slightly compared to the average 44% premium across the thirty-odd bids for UK listed firms that have closed or are still ongoing in 2024 (and the 43% average premium across nearly twenty approaches that collapsed amid opposition from the respective companies’ boards, shareholders or both).
