News | By practice area

Monday 3rd September 2001

SJ Berwin represented BL Davidson Limited in connection with its recommended cash offer for the shares in Asda Property Holdings Plc. BL Davidson is a 50/50 joint venture company recently formed for the purpose of making the offer, by Union Property Holdings (London) Limited - a wholly owned subsidiary of The British Land Company PLC - and various Davidson family and trust parties, including Manny Davidson, Executive Chairman of Asda Property Holdings.

The offer was made on 22 August 2001 at an offer price of 298.6p per Asda Property Holdings share plus the interim dividend of 1.4p, valuing Asda Property Holdings at approximately £231.7 million (including the interim dividend).

BL Davidson has conditionally acquired or received irrevocable undertakings in respect of the Davidson family and trust holdings in Asda Property Holdings representing 29.81 per cent of the issued share capital of Asda Property Holdings.

The SJ Berwin team was led by corporate finance partners Jonathan Metliss, Michael Goldberg and Delphine Currie, supported by corporate assistants Rebecca Babcock, Jacqui Adams and Patrick James. Lazard Brothers & Co. Ltd. made the offer on behalf of BL Davidson. Asda Property Holdings was represented by Ashurst Morris Crisp.

• SJ Berwin was founded in 1982 and is a full-service international legal practice with 120 partners and more than 430 lawyers. It has offices in London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Madrid and Paris.
• SJ Berwin has recently won the European Venture Capital Journal Award for Private Equity Law Firm of the Year 2000, Law Firm of the Year and Property Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2000, and Competition Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2000.