Shareholders abort £5.2bn G4S deal
The operator of Birmingham prison has halted its £5.2bn acquisition of Danish company ISS, it announced this morning.
Prison operator G4S said it had agreed to terminate the share purchase agreement after several key shareholders refused to back the deal.
The company announced on 17 October that it intended to buy ISS from FS Invest but confirmed that it will now "not be proceeding with the rights issue or other financing required for the acquisition".
Nick Buckles, chief executive of G4S, said the company was "obviously disappointed" that it had not been able to complete the deal.
He said: "We felt strongly that the combination of G4S and ISS would create a market-leading integrated security and facilities services company which would be well placed to meet the growing needs of customers and deliver significant investment returns at the same time.
"However, we respect the importance of shareholders' views and, on the basis of feedback received since the transaction was announced, we have decided not to proceed."
It was reported yesterday evening (Monday 31 October) that one of the company's largest shareholders Harris Associates was one of several who voted against the deal.
G4S previously said the £5.2bn deal would have created the "world's largest integrated security and facilities services group".
