British money manager Aberdeen will vote against the proposed €7.8 billion takeover of InPost by a consortium led by FedEx, saying the offer materially undervalues the parcel locker company.
The firm, which holds a 0.2% stake in InPost according to LSEG data, urged InPost's board to reassess its support for the "unjustifiably low" €15.60 per share cash offer.
"The offer is opportunistic, seeking to exploit a temporary dislocation in the share price at the expense of long term shareholders," said Matthew Peacock, a research analyst at Aberdeen Investments, according to extracts of a letter seen by Reuters.
Aberdeen's opposition was first reported by Bloomberg News.
The consortium, which includes Advent International, PPF Group and InPost CEO Rafal Brzoska's investment vehicle A&R, agreed to the takeover in early February, with plans to expand InPost's footprint across France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Benelux and Britain.
InPost operates across nine countries including its home market Poland, and has one of the largest European networks of automated parcel machines.
