British recruitment firm Michael Page urged the Take-over Panel to impose a deadline for Swiss suitor Adecco to make a formal bid on Monday as it reported an increase in first-half pretax profits. The group was responding to a statement from Adecco, the world's biggest staffing agency, in which it reiterated its interest in Michael Page and failed to rule out returning with a hostile offer.
That sent shares in the group, which hit a ninth-month high of 369-3/4 pence earlier this month when news of Adecco's approach emerged, up 6.8 percent to 339 pence at 1000 GMT.
Michael Page rejected Adecco's 400 pence a share or 1.3 billion pounds ($2.43 billion) offer on Friday, saying it "materially undervalued" the company and its prospects. However, Chief Executive Steve Ingham admitted that was "not the end of the matter" in an interview with Reuters. "We want a 'put up or shut up' to put some clarity on the timescale. I think the Take-over Panel will put a deadline to it. If they (Adecco) want to do something within that deadline, that's up to them," he said. Responding to suggestions of a hostile offer, Ingham said: "If they're as good as their word, then it will be friendly."
Collins Stewart analyst Julian Cater said he thinks Adecco will need to return with a cash offer of 450 pence per share to get Michael Page back to the negotiating table and reckons a deal is unlikely below 500 pence.
Michael Page, which has 166 offices in 28 countries and generates nearly 70 percent of gross profit outside the UK, reported a 22 percent increase in pretax profit to 84.1 million pounds, on revenues of 500 million, up 26 percent. Ingham highlighted the group's strategy of diversifying geographically and by discipline, saying an increasingly difficult economic environment in some markets had been balanced by others that remained strong.
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