Shares in Shanks plunged 19 per cent on Tuesday after the waste management group announced it had ended talks over the sale of the company to Carlyle Group.
109p
The buy-out firm had originally offered a preliminary bid of 135p a share last December, which was rejected by the Shanks management as too low. But Carlyle indicated this week it would make a final offer of 120p, at a stark discount to the 150p that Shanks publically said was an acceptable price for the business. The group's two largest shareholders, Schroders and Legal & General, had backed management's stance.
Shanks issued a profit warning in February after adverse weather conditions had disrupted work.
