ScottishPower tells the prowlers to keep away
IAN Russell yesterday delivered a thinly-veiled message of defiance to the companies queueing up to buy ScottishPower.
He declared that its shareholders would be amplyrewarded by the current management.
Russell said the company should be allowed to plough on with its organic growth strategy, and warned that shareholders might forefeit a multibillion pound windfall if it fell prey to a takeover.
The ScottishPower chief executive spoke out as interim results revealed a 45pc jump in pretax profits to £273m.
Last month the company raised electricity bills by 5pc- 8pc and gas prices by 12pc in a bid to protect margins. It also cut more than 700 jobs to slash costs.
ScottishPower has been at the centre of takeover speculation since German giant E.ON announced last month it was considering a bid.
Russell would not comment on this, but hinted that any predator would need to pay significantly more than the share price, which dropped
1⁄ 2p to 5771⁄ 2p.
‘I suspect most chief executives think their share price undervalues their company,’ he added.
‘I hope that you can see the wealth of opportunities that we have got for growing and expanding.’
Sources speculated that E.ON may be cooling on the talks, having reached an impasse over price after making clear it is reluctant to offer more than 650p a share.
They said Scottish & Southern might be a more likely bet, although such a deal would inevitably face scrutiny from competition regulators.
Russell said the plan to give £ 2.5bn back to shareholders from the proceeds of its sale of Pacificorp might not stand if the company lost its independence.
The first-half dividend was 10.4p a share.