The Battle for Dee Valley – Shareholders Need to Vote

A bidding war for smallish water company Dee Valley Group (DVW) broke out some weeks ago. The two bidders are Ancala (Ancala Formia Ltd) and Severn Trent Water Ltd. Although the Ancala bid was initially recommended by Dee Valley, the later Severn Trent offer is significantly higher so the recommendation was changed to support them.

However, one problem is that Dee Valley has a high proportion of retail shareholders, many of whom hold their shares in nominee accounts, and it is necessary to get through to them to ensure they accept the later offer and instruct their broker to vote in favour of the Severn Trent offer. As this is a “Scheme of Arrangement” takeover bid it is extremely important that as many as possible of the shareholders do vote. Dee Valley recommend that shareholders do not accept the Ancala offer, and vote for the Severn Trent proposal.

If you are a shareholder in Dee Valley, we suggest that you contact the Proxy Advisors for Severn Trent (Boudicca) on 020-7099-2075 (ask for Sheryl Cuisia or Kevin Ring) for further information and advice on this matter.

Roger Lawson