Shares in Carpetright have slumped nearly 10% after news this afternoon of the collapse of Lord Harris' long running plan to take the company private.
Apparently his lordship was unable to raise the money for the £12.50 a share offer because of the credit crunch.
Harris, who remains chairman and chief executive, said he was disappointed that due to "external market conditions" the £850m deal could not go through. Harris had been considering a bid since June although the formal offer came in October - well after the credit crunch was underway. If the process had not dragged on so, it seems conceivable the deal could have been wrapped up before the problems in the global financial markets.
Carpetright closed down 188p at 880p.
Overall though the market maintained its Christmas cheer. The FTSE 100 closed 88.5 points higher at 6434.1, with miners boosted by rising commodities prices. Antofagasta added 31p to 714.5p while Rio Tinto rose 148p to £52.78 as the takeover panel gave BHP Billiton until February 6 to make up its mind about whether to bid or not. BHP added 47p to £15.40.
