KKR to buy UK’s John Laing for about $2.84 billion
Private equity firm KKR said on Wednesday it has agreed to buy British infrastructure investor John Laing Group in a deal valued at about 2 billion pounds ($2.84 billion).
John Laing shareholders will be entitled to get 403 pence per share in cash, a premium of about 27% to the stock’s closing price on May 5, the day before the company confirmed it was in takeover talks with KKR.
John Laing plans to unanimously recommend to shareholders to back the deal, whose terms are considered to be fair and reasonable, it said.
“KKR is a strong partner, providing long-term capital and global expertise to accelerate John Laing’s strategy,” said John Laing Chairman Will Samuel.
“This is particularly relevant in the current environment where there may be significant opportunities to invest in critical infrastructure which responds to public needs.”
