MADRID, 19 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com confirmed this Monday that it is evaluating the possibility of launching a purchase offer for the British consumer electronics chain Currys, which has rejected an approach from Elliott Advisors.
“JD.com confirms that it is in the preliminary stages of evaluating a possible transaction that may include a cash offer for the entire issued share capital of Currys,” the Chinese company confirmed in a statement sent to the London Stock Exchange.
In this sense, JD.com has warned that there is no certainty that an offer will finally be made for Currys, nor about the terms under which said offer could be made.
In any case, according to the rules on mergers and acquisitions of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, the Chinese company must clarify by March 18 at the latest whether it has the firm intention of making an offer for Currys or, on the contrary, announce that it does not intend to submit any proposal.
The announcement of JD.com’s interest has boosted the price of Currys shares by around 35% on the London stock market, after the British chain announced this Monday that it has rejected a possible purchase offer from Elliott Advisors, which would be willing to pay 62 pence for each Currys share, which represents a 31% premium compared to the price marked at last Friday’s closing.
The board of Currys confirms that it has received an unsolicited, preliminary and conditional proposal from Elliott regarding a potential cash offer for all of the company’s issued and to-be-issued share capital at 62 pence per share (the “Proposal”).
“The Currys board considered concluded that it significantly undervalued the company and its future prospects,” the company announced in reference to the Elliott Advisors offer, which must now communicate no later than March 16 if they finally intend to launch an offer to purchase or withdraw from the transaction.
