Wellcome Trust makes €559m cash offer to buy Urban & Civic

The Wellcome Trust has made a cash offer to buy developer Urban & Civic, valued at £506 million (€560 million/$666 million).

Commenting on the announcement, Peter Pereira Gray, managing partner and CEO of the investment division of Wellcome, said, “We are very pleased to announce this recommended offer, which is fully aligned with our existing strategy of investing in businesses over the long term. The offer by Wellcome for Urban & Civic represents a compelling value proposition for Urban & Civic’s shareholders at an attractive and certain value in cash today, reflecting the high quality of the business, its people and its future prospects. We know the Urban & Civic business and its experienced management team from our recent joint venture together. We welcome Urban & Civic’s management and employees to Wellcome and look forward to working with them to invest in and develop the business further. We believe that the two groups' complementary stre