Mouchel rejects third takeover bid from Costain

摘要

Contractor Costain last week upped the ante in its battle for consultant Mouchel with a third takeover proposal worth more than ￡170M. Costain chairman David Allvey said he hoped it would "encourage Mouchel's board to engage with us without delay". Mouchel's board urged its shareholders to ignore the approach, claiming other firms were also expressing an interest in the consultant. Costain's higher approach -worth around 153.2p for each Mouchel share - comes after the consultant rejected two previous moves over the past two months. Last week's bid marks a 45% hike on Costain's first indicative offer, which valued Mouchel at around ￡118M.