Brascan Corporation said the CWG Acquisition Ltd consortium has received a letter of support from Franklin Mutual Advisors LLC, which is the discretionary fund manager for clients who presently hold 39,963,718 ordinary shares of Canary Wharf Group PLC, representing approximately 6.8 pct, stating that if CWG Acquisition makes a cash offer for Canary Wharf at 252 pence or more, its current intention is to accept this offer in respect of its entire holding of Canary Wharf shares.
Canary Wharf ex-chairman Paul Reichmann, who holds 7.75 pct in Canary Wharf, is widely expected to launch a bid for the group after Brascan Corp´s 252 pence per share all cash bid as well as the 255 pence per share cash and stock bid by a consortium led by Morgan Stanley were formally rejected.
Reichmann announced that he is proposing to continue his endeavours to form his own consortium with a view to 'making an offer to the shareholders of the company at a level in excess of that reflected in the offers received so far.'
Brascan owns around 9 pct of Canary Wharf. Analysts expect the Canadian group, which is part of the CWG Acquisition consortium that also includes Hermes Pension Management Ltd, to come back with a higher offer.
'We expect CWG Acquisition to pursue Canary Wharf, even under hostile circumstances. Moreover, we would not be surprised to see this vehicle come back with another offer, although our sense is that time is on their side,' according to the Seymour Pierce analysts.
