Babcock extends Peterhouse offer

More than half of Peterhouse's shareholders have not yet accepted Peterhouse's £96m takeover bid.

By 3pm yesterday, Babcock had received acceptances representing 47.23% of Peterhouse's issued share capital. The original offer ended on 6 May and was then extended until 27 May; it will now be extended again until 14 June.

Babcock chief executive Peter Rogers said: "The case remains that Babcock's offer is the only opportunity for Peterhouse shareholders to participate in the future growth of a larger and stronger group."

The Babcock offer has been recommended by the board of Peterhouse apart from chairman David Jackson and corporate development director Simon Foster who together proposed a management buy-out, but subsequently pulled out from staging a rival bid.

Babcock's 194p a share offer is 38% higher than Peterhouse's average share price in the two months before the bid was launched.