Charter explores selling off UK businesses

Irish engineering company, Charter, is considering a break up and sale of some of its core businesses in the UK as it tries to halt further attempts at a takeover.

The company is specifically exploring a potential sale or demerger of Howden, its air and gas handling firm which is based in Glasgow, according to reports in The Sunday Times newspaper. The company has enlisted the advisory services of Goldman Sachs to carry out a full examination of its options.

The move to sell off parts of the company has come after Charter was subject to a second takeover bid by the industrial turnaround specialist firm, Melrose, last week. The offer from the Warwickshire-based firm was in the region of £1.4 billion. Charter made an outright rejection of the bid on Friday, stating the Melrose was being "opportunistic" and that they had undervalued the company.

A statement accompanying their rejection of the bid said, "Having reviewed Melrose's revised proposal and given Melrose's advisers the opportunity to provide certain important clarifications, the board of Charter continues to believe that Melrose's revised proposal is opportunistic and undervalues the company and its prospects."

Charter bosses are hoping that selling some of the businesses sub-divisions will reduce the chances of another bid being made.

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