Bidding war for Wiltshire haulier ends in £762m victory for US firm

The multi-million pound bidding war for Wiltshire haulier Wincanton has ended with the company accepting a £762m offer.

Wincanton confirmed this morning that it is pushing ahead with the deal with US logistics firm GXO.

France-headquartered Ceva first made a £567m takeover offer for Chippenham-based Wincanton in January.

But after Ceva announced it had no plans to increase its offer the bidding war came to an end.

Ceva said: “CEVA felt that the increased and final offer represented a very attractive opportunity for all Wincanton stakeholders, notably its employees, clients and the Wincanton shareholders.”

Wincanton and  GXO issued a joint statement to the stock market this morning which all but clears the way for the acquisition.

The statement said: “The GXO directors welcome the Wincanton directors’ intention to recommend the GXO Offer and to support GXO to implement the acquisition by way of a scheme.

“Accordingly, GXO has elected, with the consent of Wincanton and the panel, to implement the acquisition by way of a recommended scheme of arrangement.”

As a result Wincanton will make applications to the London Stock Exchange for the cancellation of trading of its shares on the Stock Exchange’s main market for listed securities.

Wincanton will be re-registered as a private limited company under the relevant provisions of the Companies Act.

Wincanton also intends to adjourn shareholder meetings in order to allow the GXO offer to proceed as smoothly as possible.