Thursday, November 14, 2024

Chinese tech giant pulls out of Currys bidding war

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The Telegraph had initially revealed that JD.com had also declared an interest last month, as Currys having held exploratory discussions with the Chinese tech company. 

It was considering a bid amid a push to find new sources of growth as consumer spending slumps in China. 

JD.com is a Chinese retail behemoth, posting sales of almost $150bn (£119bn) last year. It runs an Amazon-style online “everything shop”. 

Currys’ share price fell as much as 10pc on Friday, although it later eased to 5pc.

Elliott’s first offer of 62p a share valued Currys at  £700m. After that bid was rejected, it came back last month with a £756m offer, although this was also rejected. 

Analysts had previously suggested that both Elliott and JD.com would have to go much higher than Currys share price to seal a deal.

Peel Hunt said the board was unlikely to engage with any bid below 80p a share, which would value the company at around £900m.

Some of Currys’ largest investors have backed the board in its approach.

JO Hambro Capital, one of the company’s ten biggest backers, said the offer was an example of the “absurdity” of the undervalued London market, amid concerns companies are being made vulnerable to foreign takeovers. 

It said Currys should be worth far more than what investors have valued it at.  

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