(Bloomberg) -- British security firm G4S Plc recently rejected a takeover proposal from U.S. competitor Allied Universal Security Services LLC, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Allied Universal proposed a potential bid price as it sought to gain access to G4S’s books and continue talks, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. G4S, which has a market value of 3.2 billion pounds ($4.1 billion), last week rejected the proposal as too low and didn’t engage, the people said.
The move marks the second suitor to be turned away by the British firm, which is publicly fighting a hostile bid from Canada’s GardaWorld. G4S Chief Executive Officer Ashley Almanza said in an interview last week that the company hasn’t seen any mergers that make sense and will push ahead with a turnaround plan.
The price proposed by Allied Universal and its advisers was above Garda’s hostile bid of 190 pence per share, the people said. It was closer to 210 pence per share, one of the people said, though the exact price couldn’t be learned.
Representatives for G4S and Allied Universal declined to comment.
G4S recommended last week that shareholders reject Garda’s bid, which is backed by private equity firm BC Partners, calling it “wholly inadequate.”
“We have not seen a potential combination yet that may have been in the best interest of shareholders,” Almanza said in the interview, without naming any other suitors. “The board believes in our strategy.”
Bloomberg News reported last month that G4S was approaching firms including Allied Universal in an attempt to solicit rival offers to Garda.
Allied Universal is a security and facilities manager with more than 200,000 staff and $8.5 billion in revenue, according to its website. The biggest shareholders include Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec and buyout firm Warburg Pincus.
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