Joe Lewis, the secretive billionaire former currency trader, is making a second attempt to take over an AIM-listed Bulgarian property company – at a quarter of the price of his first bid.
Windsorville Investments, a special purpose vehicle set up by Lewis to pursue a bid for Bulgarian Property Developments, has increased its shareholding in the company to 35.6% and, subsequently, made a mandatory cash offer at 16p a share, which values the company at £17.3m.
A year ago Windsorville offered to buy the company for 64p a share, after acquiring a 24.4% stake in September 2007, but was rebuffed by the company’s board, which said the offer ‘materially undervalues the company’. On 11 February Windsorville bought 10.65m shares at 16p each to give it a further 9.8% of the company.
Bulgarian Property Developments’ net asset value at 30 June last year was 63.7p a share. The value of the portfolio was €86m (£77m).
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