3i delays vote on Countrywide offer

The management of Countrywide is desperately trying to muster support for the 3i-backed takeover of the property services company after delaying a vote on the bid.

Investors were expected to block the takeover at an meeting in London yesterday after three of Countrywide's largest shareholders - Standard Life, Artisan Partners and Boussard & Gavaudan - pledged to vote against the deal after declaring that the price on offer was not sufficient.

Countrywide said that proxy votes representing less than 20 per cent of the company's overall shareholder base voted against the deal before the meeting was adjourned.

Shareholders have been offered 490p a share, as well as a sixth of a share in the property website Rightmove. That takes the value of the bid to 568p per share, valuing the company at £950m. Countrywide needs 75 per cent of its shareholders to approve the deal for the takeover to succeed. It has not yet set a date to reconvene the meeting.

3i will not raise its bid for the company, but asked Countrywide's management to delay the vote so that it had more time to win over shareholders.

Countrywide shares gained over 3 per cent to 535p as investors speculated that dissenting shareholders could be won over.