British Land’s Chairman and Chief Executive, John Ritblat, is reportedly in detailed talks to provide up to £100m of financing to back Paul Reichmann’s bid for Canary Wharf.
Ritblat, until now a staunch supporter of the City of London over its East London rival, is understood to be looking to buy the retail developments at Canary Wharf.
Reichmann is looking to trump a £1.6bn recommended offer from a consortium led by Morgan Stanley. As well as Ritblat, he has met with the US fund manager, Oaktree, GF Capital, Topland Group and an unknown US real estate investment trust.
Under an agreement with his bidding partner, Brascan, Reichmann has until 6pm on 31 January to make a bid for the Docklands developer. Reichmann has already made preliminary arrangements with Barclays and HSBC to provide debt funding for the deal.
It has also emerged that Reichmann has the right to request a seven-day extension under the conditions of his agreement with Brascan. However, it is thought unlikely that such a request would be granted because Brascan is still looking to launch its own bid for Canary Wharf.
Source: Freeman News
