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Millennium & Copthorne scraps dividend following takeover bid

The hotel operator has recommended that shareholders accept the 685p per share cash offer from City Developments
August 2, 2019

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) could soon be taken off the market if the takeover bid from Singapore-based real estate investment company City Developments proves successful. Management at the hotel operator have unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the 685p-per-share cash offer. Several shareholders, representing around 43.58 per cent of the issued capital, have already guaranteed that they would accept the offer. In light of the offer, the company has scrapped its half-year dividend. At the full-year results in February, the dividend was cut by more than a third.

IC TIP: Accept at 680p

Management had previously anticipated that the London Mayfair location would reopen in the second quarter of the current financial year following its temporary closure since July 2018, but this has been put back until September. This, along with the partial closure of the Orchard Hotel Singapore, wiped £7m off revenue and £6m from profit. Group revenue per available room at constant-currency rates increased by just 0.2 per cent to £77.82, and fell 0.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis when the impact of the Mayfair closure and the opening of a new location in New Zealand are excluded.

Bloomberg consensus forecasts are for adjusted EPS of 29.4p for 2019, increasing to 30.8p in 2020.

MILLENNIUM & COPTHORNE HOTELS (MLC) 
ORD PRICE:680pMARKET VALUE:£ 2.21bn
TOUCH:680-685p12-MONTH HIGH:685pLOW: 428p
DIVIDEND YIELD:nilPE RATIO:84
NET ASSET VALUE:860pNET DEBT:24%
Half-year to 30 JunTurnover (£m)Pre-tax profit (£m)Earnings per share (p)Dividend per share (p)
201847765.08.52.08
201947246.06.7nil
% change-1-29-21-
Ex-div:na   
Payment:na