Connells Residential: Connells' 112m cash bid values Countrywide at over 200m

Connells has dangled fresh and tasty bait before the board of fellow East of England property company Countrywide plc with an improved cash offer of £112.1 million which values the latter at £200.2m.David Livesey, CEO of Beds-based Connells, has added spice to the offer by promising to immediately repay all of Countrywide's existing lenders in full if the Chelmsford firm accepts the new bid.Livesey said the proposed deal also offers "A clear vision for the future, not yet another turnaround attempt based on wishful thinking and flaky financing."He said Connells had gone public, although it had approached Countrywide to seek its recommendation of the offer, so that all its shareholders "are aware of the compelling nature of our proposal."He said: "Countrywide desperately needs a deliverable solution to its current financial problems and lack of strategic direction. Putting Countrywide back on track requires sustained investment and gritty operational improvement over many years. "Connells' cash offer of 325 pence per Countrywide share is the only tangible deal on the table and gives Countrywide shareholders a huge premium over the value of their stock before we announced our interest."Following discussions with Countrywide's major shareholders, Connells has increased its proposed offer price by 30 per cent. It says that under the offer, Countrywide shareholders will receive "immediate, certain and significant value, at a 124 per cent premium to Countrywide's unaffected share price."