British water supplier Severn Trent said Monday it had rejected an improved takeover bid of about 5.0 billion pounds from a consortium including Canadian and Kuwaiti investment companies.
"The board of Severn Trent, having consulted its financial advisers, has unanimously concluded that the revised proposal… fails to reflect the significant long term value of Severn Trent or to recognise its future potential," the water company said in a statement.
The new bid is priced at 2,125 pence per Severn Trent ordinary share, assuming that a final dividend for the year ending in March 2013 has already been paid by Severn Trent to its shareholders.
"If the announced final dividend was paid to shareholders, then the revised proposal valued each ordinary share at 2,079.49 pence," the statement added.
That values Severn Trent at 4.96 billion pounds ( 47.57 billion, 5.82 billion euros).
The consortium's initial bid last month had stood at 2,047 pence a share. The consortium comprises Canadian group Borealis Infrastructure Management Inc., the Kuwait Investment Office and British pension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited.
Severn Trent's share price dipped 0.10 percent to stand at 2,050 pence in afternoon deals on London's benchmark FTSE 100 index, which was down 0.44 percent at 6,553.55 points.
The stock had surged almost 14 percent in value following the initial bid in May.
