Company does not want to speculate despite analysts' predictions - McAlpine theory after Raine deal

Alfred McAlpine could shake out some of its existing businesses over the next two years in addition to those Raine divisions it wants to discard, a construction industry analyst said this week.

McAlpine acquired a controlling interest in Raine last Friday, the deadline for its original offer, when 67 per cent of Raine shareholders accepted its œ44 million bid.

Gavin Morris, McAlpine's finance director, said: "This is an excellent take-up. The Raine tie-up is going well. We've now got our work cut out in delivering value. I'm very pleased with the response of Raine's shareholders."

While Morris did not wish to look further ahead, Mike Betts, analyst with stockbroker Goldman Sachs, said: "This is not necessarily the end of the reshaping of McAlpine. It will now have to sort out the Raine businesses it wants to keep and those it does not.

"At the same time, it could sort out some of its existing businesses," he said. "Then, two years down the road, there could be a further big acquisition."

Alan Crane, md of Christiani & Nielsen, also felt there could be further changes ahead at McAlpine. "It is concentrating a lot on facilities management," said Crane, "so it wouldn't surprise me in a the next year or two if McAlpine modelled themselves on Amey plus a housebuilding division."

Andy Bell, analyst with stockbroker County NatWest, agreed with Crane's vision of McAlpine's future direction though a spokesman for McAlpine said: "I've heard nothing like that."

However, Kevin Cammack, analyst at Merrill Lynch, felt that McAlpine has now settled into its "restructuring completed" mode and that in five years time it will look similar to the McAlpine of today, except that the group will have pulled out of America.

"If they were going to sacrifice construction they would have done so by now," said Cammack. "McAlpine will look much the same as today."

McAlpine might have expected a few more Raine shareholders to have accepted its initial offer. The normal figure is a 70 to 75 per cent acceptance by the first closing deadline, with the figure moving higher by the later "final and unconditional" date.

McAlpine said on Friday that its offer had been extended to Friday 13 June at 3pm.

It will hope to have the acceptance of more than 90 per cent of Raine shareholders by then, a position which would then enable it to undertake a compulsory purchase of all outstanding shareholders.