Panel to force Bonnier's hand over Regus bid

The Takeover Panel is considering forcing Indigo Capital to "put up or shut up" over its stated interest in bidding for Regus as it emerged that Robert Bonnier, the controversial former chief executive of Scoot, is behind its involvement with the serviced offices provider.

It also emerged over the weekend that Regus' chief executive Mark Dixon met Mr Bonnier for lunch late last year as Indigo built up its stake.

Mr Bonnier has a long history of controversial share dealings, including, earlier this year, being linked with a takeover bid for Gameplay, a listed cash shell in which he built up a significant stake. Gameplay shares shot up but Mr Bonnier soon sold out. In 1995, while working at Swiss Bank Corporation, now UBS Warburg, he was found to have breached rules about buying shares in the bank's clients.

The Financial Services Authority is now investigating whether Indigo made a misleading statement when, having apparently acquired a 15 per cent stake in Regus, it told the stock market on 7 January that "Indigo Capital is interested in exploring a wide range of strategic, commercial and financing alternatives with the board of Regus, one of which may include a recommended takeover."

That statement sent Regus shares soaring but it has turned out, Indigo only had voting rights over a 0.12 per cent holding. The rest was held by market maker Cantor Fitzgerald under a "contracts for difference" arrangement.

It is understood that the Panel is considering applying Rule 35.1 (b) of the Code that governs bids, which would force Indigo to declare whether or not it really is going to make an offer for Regus by a stated deadline.