The largest shareholder in Auction Technology Group has abandoned its attempt to buy the company having seen a dozen offers rejected over the past five months.
FitzWalter Capital, which owns a near-22 per cent stake in the online auction house, has given up hope of securing a deal following a bitter war of words with the board.
With ATG shares down more than 50 per cent over the past year, FitzWalter has accused bosses of ‘extreme shareholder value destruction’ and refusing to engage with it over its takeover proposals.
Throwing in the towel on Monday, it said: ‘In light of the board’s rejection and refusal to facilitate access to due diligence, FitzWalter confirms that it does not intend to make an offer for ATG.’
ATG shares fell as much as 11 per cent in early trading to 275.5p.
Takeover talk is sweeping the City of London
FitzWalter has put forward 12 proposals since September including its most recent offer which valued ATG at 400p a share or £485million.
This was rejected by the ATG board last month.
Rather than coming back with an improved offer, FitzWalter has now abandoned its pursuit of ATG.
In a statement to the stock market acknowledging FitzWalter’s decision, ATG said: ‘The board is grateful for the substantial engagement of its shareholders and the support of its customers and employees throughout this process and looks forward to continuing its constructive dialogue with FitzWalter.’
ATG is among a host of London-listed firms to become a takeover target in recent years – fuelling fears the stock market is undervalued despite a strong start to the year that has seen the FTSE 100 hit record highs.
Zurich insurance has launched a £7.7billion bid for Lloyd’s of London underwriter Beazley this year while Rio Tinto and Glencore are in talks over a deal to created the world’s biggest mining company.
And Helios Investment Partners on Monday raised its takeover offer for payments firm CAB Payments to £213million.
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