Galliford Try rejects £950m bid from Bovis Homes

28th May 2019 07:07

(Sharecast News) - Galliford Try said it had rejected a £950m bid from home builder Bovis as the offer was not in the interests of all shareholders.Bovis wanted to buy Galliford's Linden Homes and Partnerships & Regeneration arm in exchange for new Bovis shares.Bovis Homes said after an initial offer it had bid £950m together with the assumption of Galliford Try's 10-year debt private placement of £100m. It added that both companies "are no longer in discussions".Galliford Try was formed in 2000 through the merger of Try and Galliford and operates three divisions: housebuilding, regeneration and construction. In its most recent financial year, it built 6,193 properties, through both Linden and its regeneration unit.Problems at the company's construction division left to a recent profit warning for the group, mirroring the woes across the sector among government contractors after the scandalous collapse of Carillion last year. Kier had to replace its chief executive and finance director after the poor takeup of a rights issue, while Interserve has also had problems at its construction unit. All have the government watching closely.It said last month that it would take a writedown of up to £40m on the unit because of costs relating to the Queensferry Crossing road bridge in Scotland.On Tuesday Galliford said it remained confident in its long-term prospects.