Board members of construction firm McCarthy & Stone have given the go-ahead for shareholders to accept a £1.03 billion takeover bid.
The £10-per-share offer, raised by private equity groups Permira and Barclays as a consortium called Mars Bidco, exceeds McCarthy & Stone's annual share price average by over a third.
Following today's announcement it appears unlikely that opposing bids, from the Bank of Scotland and Vincent Tchenguiz, will succeed – despite their valuing McCarthy & Stone above the price offered by Mars Bidco.
"I am very pleased to announce the offer from Barclays Capital and Permira today," said Keith Lovelock, chairman of McCarthy & Stone.
"Compared with the other approaches we have received, we believe the offer provides certainty for shareholders and the company at a value which fairly reflects the strengths inherent in the business."
McCarthy & Stone, which specialises in the construction of retirement homes, has rewarded its shareholders with a 280 per cent return since September 1st 2001.
The market extended this reward today as shares rocketed in response to today's announcement. At 09:45 BST shares had fallen from their initial bump, but remained up 10.56 per cent on the day.
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