Bovis and Galliford Try in €2.86 billion merger talks

The British housebuilding company Bovis Homes rejected initial proposals from two housebuilding and general construction companies, Galliford Try and Redrow, but are still discussing a potential merger with Galliford Try.

Redrow were not willing to improve their share and cash offer, which would have given Bovis a 32.4% stake in any merged group.

The initial offer from Galliford Try valued Bovis at £1.19 billion (€1.36 billion) and would have made Galliford Try the 52.25% majority shareholder in the merged company. According to City takeover rules, Galliford Try now has until 9 April to make a new offer.

If the merger went ahead, the resultant group would have a market value of around £2.5 billion (€2.86 billion), which would make it a top-five UK housebuilder.

In the meantime, the company said, “The Board of Bovis remains committed to maximising returns to shareholders and will continue to consider all strategic alternatives.”