Norway wealth fund urges Segro and Prologis to discuss tie-up
Norway wealth fund urges Segro and Prologis to discuss tie-up OSLO, July 21 (Reuters) - Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said on Tuesday it "understands the strategic rationale" for a combination of real estate groups Prologis PLD.N and Segro SGRO.L.
Britain's Segro on Monday rejected a £13.5 billion ($18.10 billion) takeover bid from Prologis, escalating a standoff as the U.S. warehousing giant urged its rival's shareholders to push the board to agree a deal.
"We believe the proposal merits consideration, and we encourage the boards of both Segro and Prologis to enter into constructive discussions to explore whether a transaction can be agreed on mutually beneficial terms for both companies and their shareholders," Norges Bank Investment Management said.
The $2.3 trillion fund, which owns 1.3% of Prologis and 8.3% of Segro, would assess any formal proposal on its merits once full terms are known, it added.
($1 = 0.7457 pounds)
(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Essi Lehto)
((terje.solsvik@thomsonreuters.com; +47 918 666 70;))