P&O Agrees to 6.4 bln bid by Singapore's PSA Intn'l/1-26-06

[katty]

cont'd: http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2006/01/26/po_agrees_to_64_bln_bid_by_singapores_psa/

P&O agrees to $6.4 bln bid by Singapore's PSA
By Michael Smith and Dayan Candappa | January 26, 2006

LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - UK ports and ferries group P&O <PO.L> has agreed to a $6.4 billion takeover bid from Singapore's PSA International, which would create the world's largest ports company, the British company said on Thursday.

Breaking News Alerts P&O's board said it had recommended the 470 pence-per-share cash offer by PSA, throwing out a previously-agreed bid by Gulf state-backed Dubai Ports World.

Analysts and investors expect Dubai Ports to fight back to try to win control of the owner of container ports at Tilbury near London, New York and Vancouver among others.

The widely expected PSA offer is expected to spark a bidding war between companies from the city states of Dubai and Singapore. Dubai Ports was planning a counter strike, sources close to the situation told Reuters.

"It is the commencement of a battle. I suspect DP World are not going to sit on their hands and do nothing. Shareholders will get more at the end of the day," Investec Securities analyst John Lawson said.

Dubai Ports said it was preparing its response.

"We are in meetings now. We are considering our response. We will issue a statement," Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem told Reuters.

[leftstreet]

1. Corporate bidding wars. And the losers will be union dockworkers.

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article337819.ece

Singaporeans spark P&O bid battle

£3.5bn takeover approach from state-owned ports operator trumps agreed offer from Dubai

By Michael Harrison, Business Editor

Published: 11 January 2006

Britain's oldest and most famous shipping company, P&O, was at centre of an overseas bid battle last night after the port authority of Singapore made a £3.5bn takeover approach for the company.

The 470p-a-share offer from PSA International, part of Singapore's state-owned investment company Temasek, trumps a 443p-a-share bid in November from the rival Dubai port operator DP World, which has already been accepted by the board of the UK ports and ferries operator. DP World indicated it was likely to come back with a higher bid, saying it was "committed to the successful completion" of its deal with P&O.


http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=am4I_txvJ3rU&refer=home
P&O Agrees to Singapore Acquisition, Dropping Dubai (Update5)
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., Britain's largest port operator, agreed to be acquired by Singapore's biggest port company for 3.55 billion pounds ($6.3 billion), rejecting a lower offer from Dubai.

PSA International Pte, owned by Singapore's state investment company Temasek Holdings Pte, bid 470 pence for each share, London- based P&O said in a statement. DP World, the port operator owned by Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, offered 443 pence on Nov. 29.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.polondon28jan28,1,7770185.story?coll=bal-business-headlines&ctrack=1&cset=true

City port operator prefers new suitor
Associated Press
Originally published January 28, 2006
LONDON // British port operator Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., which runs Baltimore's public terminals, switched prospective suitors for the second time after Dubai Ports World raised its offer for the company to almost $7 billion, trumping an offer from Singapore's PSA International Ltd.

News of the bidding war sent P&O's shares up almost 5 percent yesterday.

[katty]

2. yes, they certainly will