Hansteen’s IMPT bid criticised

Hansteen’s offer to buy Industrial Multi Property Trust has been condemned by IMPT’s biggest shareholder, which said it had not been consulted in the deal. Alpha Real Trust, which holds 18.7% of IMPT’s share capital, said the £25m bid announced last Friday “substantially undervalues IMPT”. Although Hansteen’s offer of 300p per share was a premium of 35.1% on the company’s three-month average, Alpha Real Trust said the company has not updated its property values since 30 September and it believes they might have risen significantly since then. A statement from the shareholder this morning said: “The board of IMPT has a duty to maximise value for shareholders and the directors of Alpha Real Trust believe the offer fails to achieve this.” The offer from Hansteen followed an extraordinary general meeting in January when Alpha Real Trust called for the removal of Jonathan Clague and Donald Lake as directors after a dispute over refinancing the company. The resolutions were rejected by 53% of the shareholders. • To send feedback, e-mail karl.tomusk@estatesgazette.com or tweet @ktomusk or @estatesgazette