McAlpine U-turn

After rebuffing two previous offers, Alfred Mcalpine has accepted a UK£ 5,85 (€ 8,41) per share takeover offer from UK rival Carillion, which values the company at UK£ 600 million (€ 858 million). The offer comprises a mix of 25% cash and 75% Carillion shares, which will be newly issued.

Alfred McAlpine's board has confirmed it will be recommending the offer to its shareholders, and a joint statement said, “A combination of the two companies would present an excellent strategic fit, with potential to create a company with a leading position in support services and integrated solutions.”

In a separate development, Alfred McAlpine has announced the sale of its interest in six Private Finance Initiative (PFI) concessions in the UK roads, education and healthcare sectors for UK£ 52,2 million (€ 75 million). PFI is the UK model for public-private partnership (PPP) government concessions.

The concessions will be bought by Infrastructure Investors Limited Partnership (I2), an investment fund set up in 2003 to participate in the secondary market for infrastructure projects.