Informa rejects lower bid from consortium

By Douwe Miedema

LONDON (Reuters) - UK publishing company Informa (INF.L) said it had rejected a reduced takeover offer from a consortium as it significantly undervalued the group.

Private equity firm Blackstone (BX.N) had joined a consortium bidding for Informa (INF.L), but an industry source said earlier on Thursday the group was no longer prepared to pay its original price for the publishing firm.

Carlyle Group CYL.UL and Providence Equity Partners said Blackstone had joined their consortium, which first approached Informa for a buyout at 506 pence per share or a total of 2.15 billion pounds.

Informa said it received a fully-funded formal offer from the consortium at a reduced price of 450p, which it rejected.

"The board believes that the revised offer significantly undervalues Informa," Chairman Derek Mapp said in a statement on Thursday.

"Informa has attractive future prospects and is continuing to deliver growth across the business even in the face of a weaker economic environment," he added.

The company also confirmed that it had continued to trade in line with its expectations.

The consortium declined to comment.