Segro, a British warehouse owner, has turned down an all-share takeover offer from US real estate major Prologis, valuing the company at £12.6 billion. The rejection was announced today, causing Segro's shares to surge by 16% following the news.
This takeover attempt comes amidst a period of expansion for Segro, particularly in the data center market. The company is actively pursuing new data center sites in France, Germany, Italy, and Poland, aiming to capitalize on the increasing demand driven by artificial intelligence. Segro recently signed a pre-let agreement for a 30,000 square meter data center in Slough and secured planning approval for a £1 billion (approximately $1.35 billion) 56-megawatt data center in West London.
While data center operators currently represent about 7% of Segro's customer base, the company's strategy involves only committing capital to these projects once pre-lease agreements from hyperscalers are secured. Segro, which owns approximately 10.9 million square meters of space, has historical roots dating back to 1920 and is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris.
