French rental giant Loxam, the largest equipment rental company in Europe, appears poised to complete a takeover of Lavendon, U.K.-based rental company that primarily specializes in aerial equipment, after Belgium-based TVH said it won’t raise its bid and the board of Lavendon endorsed Loxan’s offer. TVH said it will not offer more than the 261 pence per share it offered recently, after which Loxam raised its bid to 270 pence per share.
Lavendon’s board unanimously recommended that shareholders accept Loxam’s offer. However, Lavendon chairman John Standen said “As our recent full year trading update demonstrated, Lavendon is a company in robust health, uniquely positioned across diverse geographic markets, with strong revenue growth, cash flow and return on capital employed.”
Standen noted that “Loxam has recognized the inherent value in our business and we believe that its all-cash offer provides Lavendon’s shareholders with an opportunity to realize significant value at an attractive premium to the pre-offer period share price, whilst securing early delivery of Lavendon’s potential against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty.”
Lavendon had been trading at 205 pence per share prior to TVH’s initial offer.
“Loxam is the largest equipment rental company in Europe with a strong management team that shares our belief in the strengths of our people and our growth drivers,” Standen added. “We are confident that Loxam is the right partner to take Lavendon to the next chapter of its growth story.”
“We believe the transaction will anchor Loxam as one of the leading worldwide access equipment rental companies, will reinforce Loxam’s leadership in the European equipment rental market and represents a unique opportunity to increase its scale and business profile,” said Gerard Deprez, Loxam president. “We are looking forward to working with the highly skilled Lavendon team.”
Lavendon is headquartered in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, U.K., and has operations in the U.K., Belgium, France, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.
