Canada's Brookfield buys Britain's HomeServe for £4.1b

CANADA’S Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to buy British home repair services firm HomeServe for £4.1 billion (S$7 billion), as it looks to broaden its exposure to UK residential infrastructure investments.

News of the recommended cash deal, which adds to Brookfield’s US$725 billion portfolio of alternative assets, sent HomeServe’s shares more than 10 per cent higher in early trading on Thursday (May 19).

HomeServe shareholders will receive 1,200 pence in cash for each share they hold, representing a roughly 71 per cent premium to the stock price prior to its disclosure of takeover talks with Brookfield in April.

“We look forward to supporting HomeServe’s continued growth globally as critical residential infrastructure is upgraded in the coming years to drive decarbonisation and improve energy efficiency,” Brookfield Infrastructure managing partner Sikander Rashid said.

Earlier in May, Reuters reported that Brookfield was working with banks to sell its 45 per cent stake in French towers firm TDF Group as it seeks to capitalise on growing demand for infrastructure assets across Europe.

Citigroup and Credit Suisse are working on the sale which could value TDF at more than 5 billion euros (S$7.3 billion). REUTERS