Put up, or shut up

Railways Pension Trustee Company Limited, acting through Railway Pension Investments (together, Railpen), confirmed this morning that it does not intend to make an offer for IP Group plc, the FTSE 250 science and technology investor. Railpen said it had been in discussions with the board for several months but could not agree terms.

Railpen is IP Group's largest shareholder, holding about 18.4 per cent and proposing a deal conditional on forming a consortium, confirmatory due diligence and a unanimous board recommendation. Reuters reported that the board unanimously rejected an improved 71.3p-a-share proposal on Monday 20 July, valuing the company at roughly £630m, and that the deadline was extended by a week to today.

IP Group's board said in response that it had engaged constructively, was disappointed, and retains conviction in its portfolio. The offer period is over.

Johnson Matthey Plc published a circular at 7am today setting out plans to return approximately £1bn of net proceeds from the sale of its Catalyst Technologies business to Honeywell Technologies, which completed on 17 July 2026.

The package is roughly £800m by way of a special dividend of 476.5p per existing ordinary share, plus around £200m through an on-market buyback. The special dividend comes with a 3 for 4 share consolidation, so that the market price per share should stay broadly where it is rather than falling by the amount paid out. Shareholders vote at a general meeting on Tuesday 11 August; the record date is 14 August and payment is expected on Friday 28 August, with holders of American depositary receipts paid from early September.

The same meeting will refresh the annual authorities to allot shares, disapply pre-emption rights and buy back shares through to the 2027 annual general meeting.

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc closed a £550m debt financing on 22 July: a £450m senior secured term loan and a £100m delayed draw facility, priced at 6.75 per cent over SONIA and maturing in July 2031, with funds managed by HPS Investment Partners as lead lenders. Proceeds repaid the fully drawn £170m super senior revolving facility and £20m drawn under the Yew Tree Consortium facility, both now cancelled, lifting pro forma liquidity at 30 June to about £340m. The loan is secured on assets sitting in a newly incorporated subsidiary.

That structure prompted questions. In a follow-up announcement dated Friday 24 July, the company confirmed that its senior secured notes due 2029 remain secured by a pledge over the shares in Aston Martin Lagonda Limited, an indirect parent of the new subsidiary, but not over the shares of the new subsidiary itself - and that a different new subsidiary has been designated an "unrestricted subsidiary" under the notes indenture. Half-year results follow on 29 July.