The takeover saga between Balfour Beatty and Carillion has been long on talk and short on action, with a deluge of paper but little in the way of actual juice for shareholders.
Carillion has been squeezed into paying a £59 million dividend, but that’s it. There’ll be no extra sweeteners, as Carillion can’t afford it.
But today’s missive from Balfour is a reminder of the risks to any investors tempted by cost savings on offer.
Balfour Beatty is in a different league and how knows what nasties lurk in the books? When Carillion took over smaller rival Mowlem nearly 10 years ago, it wrote off tens of millions on contracts gone bad.
Shareholders who have to weigh the risk of further pain aren’t forcing executive chairman Steve Marshall to the table so the chances are this will fizzle out next Thursday.
But if I was a middle manager in HR or accounts at Balfour I’d be worried as both sides talk bullishly about savings. The accountants are coming for you.
