Pair tune in to Songbird

THE suitors of Canary Wharf proprietor Songbird are believed to be in talks to bolster their offer for the property company that owns the iconic Docklands tower.

A joint £2.2bn bid by the Qatar Investment Authority and Canadian investment group Brookfield was rebuffed last week.

But reports suggest the pair have begun talks about raising their offer.

Sources said they could be forced to offer up to £3bn – or 380p a share – to win over the company’s board.

The pair control around £233bn of assets between them, and have joined forces to try and buy Songbird. Reports have suggested they could bring in a third buyer to bump up their bid. Standard Life, which owns a small stake in Songbird, previously said that the initial offer was too low to be taken seriously, but has subsequently sold some of its shares at 327p each – far above the 295p originally offered by Qatar.

Songbird owns 69pc of Canary Wharf, while Brookfield controls 22pc of the estate.

Qatar already owns 29pc of Songbird, which means that a successful deal would give the pair control of 91pc of the estate.

That would make it easier to buy the remaining stake and have complete control of the site, where an estimated 100,000 people work.

Shares in Songbird yesterday rose 20p or a further 6pc to close at 350p.