Qataris complain about Songbird adviser

Doha: The biggest shareholder in Songbird Estates, majority owner of East London business district Canary Wharf, has expressed concern about the role of a company adviser in the battle to take over the company.

Alex Midgen, a managing director at Rothschild and a Songbird board member, is advising the company’s shareholders on the takeover bid by the Qatar Investment Authority and Brookfield, a Canadian investor.

The Qataris, who own more than a quarter of its shares, and Brookfield bid 295p per share for Songbird this month, valuing the company at £2.2 billion.

An independent valuation conducted in the past week put the figure at £2.8 billion, up 19 per cent since June. As a result, the bidders may withdraw from negotiations, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Midgen sits on Songbird’s board as a representative of Glick Entities, US investor Simon Glick’s group of companies. He is one of the company’s longest-serving directors, having been on the board since 2004.

He is also acting as an independent adviser to all the shareholders on the takeover bid.

The Qataris have complained to David Pritchard, Songbird’s chairman, that this represents a conflict of interest, say people familiar with the situation.

The Qataris and Brookfield have until Thursday to make a further offer to the other Songbird shareholders, which include China Investment Corp, Glick Entities and Morgan Stanley.

Qatar has two representatives on the Songbird board, while Glick Entities and Morgan Stanley each have three appointees. There are three independent non-executives, including Mr Pritchard.

Morgan Stanley is also advising the board on the takeover bid. JPMorgan Cazenove has been appointed as a third adviser.

Midgen was chosen by all of Songbird’s independent non-executive directors to advise the board on the takeover bid, the company said in a statement.

Songbird said: “The appointment of the company’s long-term advisers Morgan Stanley, Rothschild and JPMorgan Cazenove was unanimously supported by those directors of the company with no connection to any of the firms. In evaluating this takeover approach, the sole focus of the board and its advisers continues to be fair value for all shareholders.”

— Financial Times