The attempt to win control of Songbird Estates (SBD) by two principal shareholders is turning into an increasingly bitter wrangle for the group's prime asset - a 70 per cent stake in Canary Wharf - after the pair upped their bid.
Specifically, the Qatar Investment Authority and Canadian property investor Brookfield Property Partners - which, combined, already own half of the shares - made a final 350p a share cash offer for Songbird late last week, valuing the group at £2.6bn. That follows an earlier indicative approach at 295p a share in early November, which was rejected out of hand by Songbird given that the group's stated book value at the half-year stage was 319p a share.
However, after releasing details of an independent valuation of the Songbird's assets, it has emerged that the group's book value at the end of November had risen to 381p a share. That prompted a negative response from Songbird to the latest offer - although its hasn't been rejected outright yet, either - with management saying that it "does not reflect the full value of the group".
