IWG botched takeover leaves uncertain future

ONEX

06/08/2018 10:15

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are her own.)
    By Aimee Donnellan
    LONDON, Aug 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The 2.2 bln pound
office provider walked away from suitors having failed to agree
a price. Its UK business is struggling with the fallout from
Brexit, and the advance of rival WeWork poses a bigger threat.
That leaves founder Mark Dixon having to borrow to invest at a
risky time.
    
    Full view will be published shortly.
    On Twitter https://twitter.com/aimeedonnellan
    
    CONTEXT NEWS
    - Shared offices provider IWG said on Aug. 6 it had
abandoned takeover talks with three real estate and private
equity groups.
    - The company said it stopped negotiations with Starwood
Capital, TDR Capital and Terra Firma because it did not believe
any of them could deliver a deal at a price that IWG could
recommend to its shareholders.
    - It’s the second time this year that IWG has failed to
agree terms with potential acquirers. Canadian group Onex Corp
and Brookfield Asset Management made a joint approach in
December 2017 only for talks to collapse at the start of
February 2018.
    - IWG on Aug. 6 said pre-tax profit in the first half of the
year fell by 33 percent to 54.3 million pounds. Revenue for the
six months to June 30 rose 2.9 percent to 1.2 billion pounds.
IWG shares fell 20.7 percent to 237.7 pence at 0800 GMT.
    - For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
click on  DONNELLAN/ 
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    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Offices group IWG ends takeover discussions with remaining
suitors     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1UX16E
IWG statement on M&A    http://otp.investis.com/clients/uk/iwg_plc/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=1012&newsid=1139890
TDR statement on IWG    http://otp.investis.com/clients/uk/iwg_plc/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=1012&newsid=1139945
IWG earnings report    http://otp.investis.com/clients/uk/iwg_plc/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=1012&newsid=1139895
BREAKINGVIEWS-IWG suitors need sparkle to make takeover work   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1UE51T
BREAKINGVIEWS-IWG profit flub takes heat out of bidding war   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1TT1EZ
BREAKINGVIEWS-IWG suitors could use some WeWork magic   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1SL1UA
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Editing by Neil Unmack and Bob Cervi)
 ((Aimee.Donnellan@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
Aimee.Donnellan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))