Shanks throws £475m offer in the waste (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Shanks throws £475m offer in the waste

10:46am Wednesday 10th March 2010 in

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WASTE disposal group Shanks, which has a major Southampton office, has walked away from takeover talks after rejecting a £475m offer.

The long-running discussions with private equity firm Carlyle collapsed after the US company reduced its offer from its starting point of £535m, proposed in October.

The lower price comes a month after Shanks, which has its accounts office in Nursling, told shareholders that it expected full-year trading results to be slightly below its expectations.

A successful takeover would have made Shanks |the UK’s third waste management group to fall into private equity hands in recent years, following buyouts of rivals Cory and Biffa.

Milton Keynes-based Shanks, which employs 4,500 staff, has three key areas of work – recycling, converting waste into energy and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts.

Shanks chairman Adrian Auer said Carlyle had failed to offer a price which “properly reflects the value of the group”.