Novar, the group behind top electrical names such as MK, Bardic and Gent, is facing a bitter takeover battle as it fends off a bid from Melrose, the specialist bid vehicle.

General Electric, Honeywell and Siemens are all reported to be considering rival offers.

Novar, previously known as Caradon, is made up of three divisions – a building control subsidiary, Intelligent Building Systems, an aluminium extrusion business and cheque book printing concern. The Intelligent Building Systems division incorporates the electrical brands.

Novar has already received a 145p cash and share bid from Melrose but it has rebuffed the offer as being “mean”, coming in at just 17% higher than Novar’s share price before Melrose first expressed an interest. Novar’s share price rose more than 10p above the offer price in the days following the bid. In its defence strategy, Novar has hinted that it may break up the group or sell individual businesses to interested parties.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor

Postscript

The service arms of Novar brands Trend, Gent and Bardic have been integrated to create a single maintenance company to be called Novar Services.