Qatar and Brookfield's Canary Wharf offer declared unconditional

[LONDON] A Qatar-led group has declared its offer for Songbird Estates Plc unconditional, giving it control of London's Canary Wharf financial district.

Songbird Estates Plc shareholders owning 65.5 per cent of the stock accepted the 350 pence-a-share offer by Qatar Investment Authority and Brookfield Property Partners LP, according to a statement on Thursday in London.

Qatar already held a 28.6 per cent stake.

The joint venture, called Bidco, intends to make a compulsory purchase of the remaining shares in Songbird, which owns 69 per cent of Canary Wharf Group.

Bidco will now offer 6.45 pounds a share to acquire the outstanding shares in CWG, according to Thursday's statement.

Franklin Mutual, which holds 7 per cent of CWG, said in December it would accept an offer for its shares based on the price offered for Songbird.

The battle for control of the financial district ended last week when Songbird's biggest shareholders accepted the bid. The shareholders included entities related to the Glick family, China Investment Corp and Morgan Stanley.

BLOOMBERG