Raiders line up assault on P&O

P&O, the shipping and ports group led by Lord Sterling, has been targeted for takeover by a group of venture capitalists.

Tim Harris, former heir apparent to Sterling and now chairman of shipping group James Fisher, is believed to have been approached by investors with plans to mount a £2bn assault.

Harris quit P&O in May last year after a row over strategy and Sterling's reluctance to give up control. The peer has headed P&O since 1983.

A major shareholder warned: 'The lack of a visible succession plan is an Achilles heel in any takeover defence.'

Analysts say P&O has an underlying asset value of 295p a share, compared with Friday's 193 1/2p close.

Sterling, 66, has been accused of holding on to operations too long then missing the moment to sell.

The £1.5bn flotation of a container-ship joint venture with Netherlands firm Nedlloyd fell by the wayside, then he missed the chance to sell out to the Dutch company.

P&O also failed to float its bulk shipping business 15 months ago when freight rates were at a 30-year high.

An executive who knows P&O said: 'It is not stable, and the more apparent that becomes, the more people will become interested in it.'