February 13, 2004

By Bloomberg

London - Canada's Brascan offered about £1.6 billion for Canary Wharf Group, matching a Morgan Stanley bid in the takeover battle for the London developer.

The £2.75 a share offer by Brascan compared with its earlier bid of £2.70, the company told the Regulatory News Service.

Paul Reichmann, Canary Wharf's founder, abandoned his own takeover effort on January 29 and said he was supporting Brascan. Reichmann and Brascan own about 18 percent of the company.

"I have to trust management on this one that they are going to bow out of the bidding when the price gets to be too rich," said Brascan shareholder James Hall, a fund manager. 

Brascan, a Canadian power generator and property investor, and Morgan Stanley, a US-based investment bank and a Canary Wharf tenant, are betting the business park where Reichmann built London's tallest building on derelict land will fill up again as occupiers start hiring workers for a pick-up in business.

The group led by Morgan Stanley, which first bid L2.55 in November, has the backing of Canary Wharf's independent directors.

Canary Wharf's market value has risen more than 50 percent since June 5, the day before it said it was holding talks with possible suitors.