EDF launches offer for EcoSecurities as bid war hots up

CARBON credits firm EcoSecurities yesterday rejected a takeover bid from French utility giant Electricité de France (EDF), the second it has received in June so far, sparking hopes that a bidding war will soon break out for the company.

EDF Trading, a subsidiary of EDF, said it was considering a cash offer of at least 75p per share for EcoSecurities, which develops carbon offsetting projects under the Kyoto Protocol’s clean mechanism scheme.

But EcoSecurities hit back in a statement, saying the offer was “wholly inadequate”.

It also confirmed it had recently received and rejected another indicative conditional proposal from EDF at 96p a share.

EDF’s bid came just one trading day after EcoSecurities on Friday received and snubbed a further potential bid at 60p per share, launched by its co-founder and former president Pedro Moura Costa, through investment vehicle Guanabara Holdings.

Analysts yesterday suggested the bids coming in substantially undervalued the stock.

Mirabaud analyst Agustin Hochschild retained his 143p price target on the stock.

And KBC Peel Hunt’s Andrew Shepherd Barron said in a note to the market that a “fair value” for EcoSecurities would be nearer 136p when taking into account expected volume delivered and the current price of carbon.

Shares in EcoSecurities yesterday rose 30 per cent on the Aim market to close at 77.5p.