Minerva agrees to £203m bid

A consortium featuring property investor Jamie Ritblat's Delancey investment firm has reached agreement with Minerva to buy the developer in a deal valuing it at around £202.6m.

The offer will see Minerva shareholders receiving 120.5p per share in cash, representing a premium of around 21 per cent to the closing price on 25 May, the day before the details of the possible bid were disclosed.

News of the recommended bid, which is being made via a special purpose vehicle called Jupiter Properties 2011, followed Minerva's announcement in January that it was in talks over possible offers for the business, whose developments include the Walbrook building in the City of London, and the Odeon Cinema building in Kensington.