Clothing group in takeover talks.Clothing retail group Peacock peacock or peafowl, large bird of the genus Pavo, in the pheasant family, native to E Asia. There are two main species, the common (Pavo cristatus), and the Javanese (P. has revealed it has been in takeover To assume control or management of a corporation without necessarily obtaining actual title to it. A takeover bid or tender offer is a proposal made by one company to purchase shares of stock of another company, in order to acquire control thereof. talks for the second time in six months. The owner of the Peacocks, bonmarche and Fragrance Shop businesses said it had received an approach, but that discussions with the unnamed party were still at an early stage. It made an identical announcement in March, but then said a day later that the talks had ended. Nick Bubb, a retail analyst at Evolution Securities, said the approach was most likely to have come from a private equity company looking to back the company's management team. He put a price of 375p a share on Peacock ( valuing the Cardiff-based company at around pounds 444m. Peacock has proved to be one of the better performing retail stocks after recently revealing a 4.3% rise in like-for-like sales Like-for-Like Sales The portion of current sales achieved through activities that are comparable to the activities of the previous year. Notes: Using like-for-like sales is a method of valuation that attempts to exclude any effects of expansion, acquisition, or other at its 434-strong chain of Peacocks stores. Bonmarche, which trades from 349 outlets and has suffered from aggressive discounting by rivals such as Asda and Tesco, posted flat sales while the recent acquisition, The Fragrance Shop, was 2.5% higher. While shares have rallied from a low of 64.5p at the end of 2002, market rumours have persisted about the chances of a management buy-out. Mr Bubb added: "It is very early days, so the market may be a bit sceptical, but we suspect there is a 60% to 70% chance of a deal being agreed this time." The company stressed in its statement yesterday that talks with the unnamed party were at a "very preliminary stage". It added the proposals being considered were subject to a number of pre-conditions and that there was no certainty CERTAINTY, UNCERTAINTY, contracts. In matters of obligation, a thing is certain, when its essence, quality, and quantity, are described, distinctly set forth, Dig. 12, 1, 6. It is uncertain, when the description is not that of one individual object, but designates only the kind. Louis. an offer would be made. |
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