Revised takeover bid from Qataris and Brookfield swiftly rejected

Canary Wharf Crossrail Station - Foster + Partners

Songbird Estates, the owner of Canary Wharf Group, have swiftly rejected a £2.6bn offer to buy the firm from Qatar Investment Authority and Brookfield Property Partners.

The pair of investors first tabled an offer that valued Songbird estates at £2.2bn last month but this was swiftly rejected.

Last night, they tabled a revised offer which valued the group at £2.6bn.

But this morning that valuation has also been questioned.

The firm said its board believed that the offer “did not reflect the full value of the company, its unique position and future growth potential”.

It pointed out that a revised valuation of the firm published on 27 November gave it a net asset value of £2.8bn and that there were “other areas of value within the company” as well.

The Qatar Investment Authority already owns 28.6% of ordinary shares in Songbird Estates.