Northumbrian Water Group Plc said a group owned by Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man, has made a takeover approach that values the British water utility at about 2.4 billion pounds ($3.9 billion).
Northumbrian said Monday that Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings (CKI) had made it a non-binding proposal of 465 pence per share in cash, 21 percent higher than Northumbrian’s share price before reports of a takeover surfaced last month.
Analysts had previously said that CKI could pay between 450 and 500 pence per share for the water provider.
Northumbrian said its board has agreed to open up its books to CKI for a limited period.
CKI has already invested in two unlisted British water companies – it owns Cambridge Water and has a 4.75 percent stake in Southern Water. It has agreed to sell Cambridge Water prior to announcing a firm bid offer for Northumbrian – a move analysts have said could be necessary for the deal to gain regulatory acceptance.
