Shares in SIG Signature Aviation,
it fell on Friday, just hours after the UK private jet company announced that they are in talks with Blackstone about a potential takeover of more than £ 3 billion ($ 4 billion).
Signature Aviation’s BBAVF,
London-listed stocks rose more than 40% on Thursday, after the FTSE 250 listed company announced the $ 5.17 ($ 3.83) all-cash offer from the U.S. buying agency in a statement to the stock market.
That helped strengthen Microsoft MSFT,
founder Bill Gates, who owns a 19.2% stake in Signature through his investment vehicle Cascade Investments.
The company, which provides fuel and ground services to private jets and charter flights, has seen its stock fall more than 16% since the start of the year, amid the unprecedented fall in global travel through COVID-19 pandemics.
On Friday, Signature shares traded 1.92% lower at 368.20 pence in London.
The Signature board said it rejected a competitive display offer from Global Infrastructure Partners at a lower price than Blackstone was offering.
Read: The future of private jets
As soon as the ultrawealthy is secured, the demand for private jets is expected to grow at the time of the pandemic, as business travelers and individuals flock to full airports. population and avoid commercial flights.
VistaJet said in October that it has seen a 49% increase in physical interest worldwide since the outbreak began. The private jet company said the U.S. is leading the spread of corporate demand, accounting for more than 41% of interest.
The cost of a short-haul, on-demand, private charter flight in Europe starts at € 4,500, ($ 6,083) according to the website of Swiss private jet company LunaJets.
If Blackstone’s bid for Signature is successful, this is the latest in a series of UK property companies in recent weeks.
“A real ocean of private equity money is still ready to be used and we are beginning to see that take shape – UK-registered shares have value due to the Brexit easing,” he said. Neil Wilson, chief market analyst for Markets.com.
On Thursday, TalkTalk TALK,
accepted an offer of £ 1.1 billion from its second largest shareholder Toscafund Asset Management to privatize the budget broadband provider.
On December 7, Cisco Systems CSCO, the U.S. technology giant,
struck a contract to buy London-based cloud communications software company IMImobile IMO
for $ 730 million in cash. Days later, security group G4S, which has been at the center of a bid battle, approved a £ 3.8 billion ($ 5 billion) takeover bid from US – based Allied Universal.
Read: The $ 5 billion bid battle for G4S security group has just ramped up – here ‘s what could happen next
GardaWorld Canada has said they are considering a higher bid for G4S.
Interest in UK companies from foreign candidates and concerns about the impact of China’s economic power prompted the government in November to announce the biggest shake-up of the country’s adoption law in two decades.
Read: Bids to buy UK companies to be more difficult when ministers rule out ‘back door’ takeovers from countries like China and the US
Under the National Security and Investment Bill, ministers will have the power to investigate the acquisition of intellectual property and assets, as well as companies themselves. They will be able to stop buying at any time in the five years following the end of the contract.