Goldsmith Says BAT Bid Doomed Unless Extended
Sir James Goldsmith, one of the three financiers leading the hostile takeover bid for BAT Industries PLC, said Thursday that a British regulatory panel must extend its deadline or his takeover attempt will fail.
Britain’s Panel on Takeovers and Mergers requires that all conditions of a bid, including U.S. regulatory hurdles, must be completed within 81 days of the posting of the bidder’s formal offer document.
“If there is no extension from the panel it’s very hard to see the offer succeeding,” Goldsmith said.
Goldsmith’s consortium, Hoylake Investments Ltd., posted its $21.4-billion (13.4-billion-pound) bid for BAT and its U.S. subsidiaries on Aug. 8, which leaves the group 58 days to meet U.S. regulatory requirements.
London-based BAT, the world’s largest tobacco company, has significant interests in financial services, paper and retailing--including such U.S. holdings as the Saks Fifth Avenue and Marshall Field department stores and Farmers Insurance Group.
Goldsmith on Thursday also launched an attack on regulatory commissions in several U.S. states “for obstructing the bid.”
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