The chairman of Highland Timber has written to shareholders withdrawing the board’s support of a sale of its assets to FIM Timber Growth Fund IV and rec-ommending the offer from European Forest Resources Acquisition Ltd.
Ron Williams said that the European Forest Resources Acquisition offer, which values the firm’s forests in Scot-land and Wales at £14.8m, would allow shareholders “the best opportunity…to realise their investment in the company at the same time and at the same price”, adding that “the directors recognise that there can be no certainty that the ordi-nary shares will trade at a price equiva-lent to the European Forest Resources Acquisition offer price of 120 pence per ordinary share in the foreseeable fu-ture”.
The announcement of the support of the European Forest Resources Acquisition offer comes after the investment firm said it was going to pursue a deal even though Highland Timber’s board had recommended the FIM offer to share-holders.
Highland Timber hopes to adjourn the extraordinary general meeting relating to the offer until September 26 in order to allow shareholders more time to con-sider the offer.