Intu jilted after being led up the aisle by rival

The proposed £3.4bn merger between Hammerson and Intu may have officially died a death yesterday, but the deal between Britain’s biggest shopping owners has been effectively over since last week. It was clear then that there was trouble ahead when a staid Dutch pension fund wrote three letters objecting to the proposed deal, copying in the media with the last one on Friday. In doing so APG, the second largest shareholder in Hammerson, delivered a deadly blow. It was critical, too, because it came on the same day that Klépierre, a French rival, decided to walk away from making a formal £5bn offer for Hammerson. A second article in The Times claims that Hammerson is under fire after walking away from the intu deal, although some shareholders supported the move. And the Telegraph reports that Hammerson and intu are both facing bills of upwards of £10m after the deal collapsed on Wednesday. Click here for the full Times article (£) Click here for the full Times Hammerson under fire article (£) Click here for the full Independent article Click here for the full Guardian article Click here for the full FT article Click here for the full Telegraph article (£)