John Menzies surges after suitor NAS buys stake at 605p a share

John Menzies surged on Thursday after National Aviation Services, a subsidiary of Kuwait’s Agility Public Warehousing, said it has agreed to buy a 13.2% stake in the aviation services group at 605p a share.

NAS has made two takeover proposals to John Menzies, both of which have been rejected on the basis that they were opportunistic and undervalued the business. The first approach was made at 460p a share and the second at 510p.

The company said on Thursday that after talks with Menzies shareholders, it had entered into contracts to buy just over 12.1m shares at 605p each. As a result, any firm offer for Menzies will now have to be priced at no less than the share purchase price.

This would represent a 109% premium to the Menzies closing share price on 2 February, which was the day before NAS made its second proposal to the company’s board.

NAS chief executive Hassan El-Houry said: "The acquisition of this significant stake demonstrates our seriousness and belief that a combination of Menzies and NAS offers a compelling opportunity to all stakeholders.

"Once again we urge the Menzies board to engage with us so that we can put our compelling and deliverable offer to shareholders and secure Menzies' future in a highly uncertain environment."

At 1050 GMT, Menzies shares were up 25% at 583p.