IWG in takeover talks with three private equity suitors

IWG, the serviced office group formerly known as Regus, has received a takeover approach from one private equity company and proposals from two others.

After market close on Friday, when it finished the week with a market cap of £2.3bn based on a share prices of 252p, the FTSE 250 company said that it had been approached about a takeover by Lone Star Europe Acquisitions and received two separate "indicative proposals" from Starwood Capital and TDR Capital regarding possible cash offers.

"The board is evaluating the possible offers with its financial advisers and shareholders will be updated in due course," IWG said.

Under UK Takeover Panel rules the private equity trio have a 5 pm deadline on 8 June 2018 to 'put up or shut up'.

Last December, IWG was approached by Canadian property giant Brookfield and private equity firm Onex over a £2.5bn bid, but talks ended in early February.

Early this month IWG posted a 6.7% rise in first-quarter group revenues to £583.9m after good double-digit growth in EMEA and high single-digit growth in the Americas and Asia Pacific.

Not long before, founder and CEO Mark Dixon, said alongside annual results that the industry was "fast approaching a tipping point which will see the flexible workspace option, in which we are the leading global supplier, become the norm for progressive businesses worldwide as they seek flexibility, employee satisfaction and cost efficiency".