John Menzies has rejected an unsolicited proposal from National Aviation Services (NAS), a subsidiary of Kuwait-based Agility Public Warehousing.

The proposal, which would see NAS pay 510p per Menzies share, follows an earlier unsolicited approach from NAS to the Menzies board regarding a possible all cash offer at 410p per share. Having considered the proposal with financial advisors Goldman Sachs International, the board unanimously rejected it, concluding that it is ‘opportunistic, conditional and that the terms fundamentally undervalue Menzies and its future prospects’.

Philipp Joeinig, chairman and CEO of John Menzies, said: “The board of Menzies has unanimously rejected this unsolicited and highly opportunistic proposal, which we believe does not reflect Menzies’ true intrinsic business worth or its prospects. Menzies continues to make good progress with strong performance across a number of service lines, which together with productivity gains, saw the Group finish last year strongly. This strong performance and momentum in 2021 has continued in 2022 with further contract wins and renewals alongside the continued recovery of global flight volumes.

The board remains fully confident in the recovery and outlook for the global aviation services industry as it returns to pre-pandemic trading levels and benefits from long term structural growth drivers. The board believes the strong portfolio mix, positioning of Menzies and the ongoing execution of Menzies’ strategy will create significant value for shareholders in the near and medium term.”

Following the takeover approach, shares in Menzies jumped by 41% to 475p, a two-year high, and later traded at 455.50p, 36% higher but below NAS’ offer price.