Starwood Capital Approached U.K. Developer Helical With Takeover Interest

(Bloomberg) -- Helical Plc, a London-based real estate developer, recently received takeover interest from an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Starwood Capital isn’t currently in active negotiations with Helical and it’s not clear if the discussions will restart, the person said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Representatives for Helical and Starwood declined to comment.

Shares of Helical erased earlier gains to fall as much as 1.5% in late Thursday trading. They were down 0.3% at the close in London, giving the company a market value of about 438 million pounds ($556 million).

Helical said this month that it had received more than one unsolicited approach, but that the offers didn’t reflect “the fair value of the company,” without naming the parties. The company said it was open to engaging with potential suitors.

The statement came after an article in the Sunday Times newspaper said an unidentified U.S. private equity group had made a 500 million-pound takeover bid for Helical.

Helical, run by Chief Executive Officer Gerald Kaye, traces its roots to 1919 when it was incorporated as a business selling steel to the construction industry. In 1986, it turned its focus to property development and investment under the leadership of Michael Slade. Slade, the company’s largest shareholder, will step down from his role as chairman at the annual general meeting next month.

Starwood has invested in U.K. projects including a development in East London’s Royal Docks. Helical is known for its office buildings in London and Manchester, including Barts Square in the City of London and the Bower, an East London complex popular with technology startups.

To contact the reporters on this story: Gillian Tan in New York at gtan129@bloomberg.net;Jack Sidders in London at jsidders@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net, ;Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net, Amy Thomson, Ben Scent

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