HomeServe surges as Brookfield said to near takeover deal

HomeServe shares shot higher on Wednesday following a report that Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management is nearing a takeover of the household repairs provider.

According to Bloomberg, the deal is set to value HomeServe at about $5bn and would be one of the UK’s largest take-private transactions this year.

It was understood that Brookfield is hammering out final terms of a transaction and could reach an agreement in the coming days.

At 1105 BST, the shares were up 13% at 1,100p.

Brookfield announced on 24 March that it was in the early stages of considering a possible offer for HomeServe. Since then, HomeServe has received a number of proposals from the firm and under UK takeover rules, Brookfield has until 19 May to either announce a firm intention to make an offer or walk away.