Liberty receives 186p a share bid

7th May 2010 16:59

Luxury goods retailer Liberty has received a 186p a share offer from BlueGem Capital Partners. Irrevocable acceptances have been received from shareholders owning 86.3% of the company. The offer is in the form of a 141.8p a share cash bid and a 44.2p a share special dividend. This places a value of £42m on Liberty. The company added that it has rejected a rival offer to the BlueGem bid that was worth 185p per Liberty share.The company said that on Thursday, 6 May, it had received an approach from a party unconnected with BlueGem. The third party was proposing a mixture of cash for Liberty plus a special dividend to be paid to shareholders. The share price had soared to 315p a share after Liberty admitted that it was in talks. In March, Liberty agreed to sell the freehold to its flagship West End store for £41.5m.The store will be leased back for an annual rent of £2.1m. The disposal is dependent on the approval of the shareholders of MWB, which owns 68.3% of Liberty.