Halfords targeted by Redde Northgate in £1.4bn merger

A £1.4 billion bid by van rental group Redde Northgate for Halfords has been dismissed, because it undervalued the company, reports suggest.

Redde Northgate had proposed a nil-premium merger, according to The Times, but the discussions were abandoned because of disagreements over price.

The Halfords board is reportedly thought to have concluded that any such deal on the terms laid out would have undervalued the company.

However, it is believed that Redde Northgate could mount a fresh bid if the valuation gap between the two sides closes.

“There were discussions about what an integration of the two businesses might look like but there were questions over the valuations of both companies,” a source told The Times.

“Both share prices weren’t doing fantastically well at the time so there is nothing live at the moment. However, it could come back.”

Founded in 1992, offering a package of motor claims accident management services, including vehicle replacement and repair management together with full claims-handling assistance, Redde became Redde Northgate in 2020 following its merger with the van rental company.

It bought FMG for £42.3 million in 2015, and in September 2020 acquired the majority of repair centres from Nationwide Accident Repair Services, the UK’s largest wholly owned repair network, renaming it FMG RS.