Hedge fund
That effectively means the Chelsea-based fund is likely to determine whether the recommended offer from
This bid is being submitted through a scheme of arrangement that requires investors speaking for 75% of the share capital to accept the offer at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for Friday April 13.
Earlier this month, on March 5, Apollo’s bid was accepted by Countrywide’s directors. At the same time, shareholders representing 23.8% of the shares gave irrevocable undertakings to accept the offer. These included JANA Partners, Seneca, Scoggin, ReachCapital, Majedie and Gracie.
Artisan had opposed the 3i deal but was believed to support the Apollo alternative or “a deal along similar lines”. Apollo is offering Countrywide shareholders a minority stake in the buyout vehicle. Polygon has tried to block a number of deals, including the takeover of Telent last summer and of property group Teesland more recently.
Other hedge funds that have not revealed their intentions regarding the Apollo offer include Davidson Kempner and Och-Ziff, with holdings of 3.9% and 4.8% respectively.
Polygon has built part of its stake through buying contracts for difference above the offer price at 590p to 599p.
Deutsche Bank holds a 6.1% stake in Countrywide, after increasing it from 5.4%.
Chris Spink