Rival urged to bid for Blackwell

PUBLISHER Taylor & Francis has been urged by its financial adviser, ABN Amro, to table a bid for rival Blackwell to break the deadlock at the family-owned firm caused by a bitter internal dispute over its future.

Blackwell Publishing's biggest shareholder, Toby Blackwell, is demanding the board seeks a trade sale of the business to realise maximum value for shareholders. He believes the company could be worth more than £400m and he has been joined by a group of independent shareholders who have banded together to put pressure on the board to sell.

But the board, led by Toby's nephew, Nigel Blackwell, is determined to float the company on the stock market by 2005.

A board sub-committee has been set up to look at 'shareholder liquidity and capital structure', but it will not necessarily consider the advantages of a trade sale, despite Toby Blackwell's wishes.

Sources close to Taylor & Francis, which has a market capitalisation of more than £480m, have called the acquisition of Blackwell a 'marriage made in heaven', but the company has been reluctant to bid while there is still a rift between the board and its major shareholders.

Now ABN Amro is understood to have told the company that making a bid would give it a significant advantage, particularly over its main potential rival, John Wiley & Sons, a US-quoted publisher. A source close to Taylor & Francis said: 'There are difficulties in being first to put in an offer, but the Blackwell board would have to consider a firm bid for the business The advantages of Taylor & Francis are clear. It is a perfect fit and it's a well-managed company-that can point to a strong performance in a tough market. Those shareholders who want cash now would get it, while those who want to be part of a good quoted company would get that, too.'

Taylor & Francis shares closed at 570p, down 2 1/2p on the week.