We decided to see if there was a price out there that would lock in value and give us an attractive premium."The Talisman cash offer was pitched at 355p a share, a 29 per cent premium to Paladin's closing price on Wednesday. First Calgary put itself up for sale this year but found no buyers.Mr Franklin said: "There may be a spate of deals now but there is no company that is a lookalike for Paladin. While many of the others are engaged in exploration in far-flung and risky parts of the world, often with low levels of production, the bulk of Paladin's assets are in the North Sea.Mr Franklin said: "Industry buyers are focused on companies producing assets, high-quality cash flow and incremental upside. It is investors who are seduced by the romance of high-risk exploration."Paladin had quietly put itself up for sale over the past few months and had approached a "handful" of potential buyers, leading to the Talisman deal. Among other independents bought in recent years are Enterprise Oil, which was swallowed by Shell Italy's Eni took British Borneo and Lasmo. Paladin Resources, the oil and gas group, has become the latest independent player in the exploration and production sector to be swallowed up, agreeing to be bought for £1.2bn by Talisman Energy Resources of Canada. The deal sent shares in other mid- and small-sized energy companies racing up.
Among the biggest independents, Cairn Energy and BG Group gained more than 2 per cent. The other prominent risers included Venture Production, which ended 8 per cent higher; Dana Petroleum, 7 per cent better; Tullow Oil, which jumped 5 per cent; and Burren Energy, 4 per cent higher. Paladin's chief executive, Roy Franklin, warned the attractions of his company did not apply to most in the sector. But he refused to name any of the shareholders or say what proportion of Rentokil they owned.. Of its 10-strong management, only four were there when Mr Flynn arrived.The Raphoe spokesman predicted the tussle for management control of the company would go "down to the wire", claiming a "cluster of blue-chip investors" was talking to Rentokil directors about Sir Gerry's attempts to install himself as executive chairman. Mr Hobart will not join the Rentokil board.A Raphoe spokesman claimed the departure of Mr Brown was further evidence of "panic" on the Rentokil board, saying Mr Flynn was throwing executives out "like ballast from a balloon" in an attempt to keep his own job.Mr Flynn said he had been in discussions about Mr Brown's retirement for some time and his replacement was part of the strategy of reinvigorating management. He is being replaced by Andy Hobart, who joins from the RAC, which was recently taken over by the insurance giant Aviva. Edward Brown, who has been with Rentokil for 25 years, is expected to receive a £350,000 pay-off when he retires as a main board director in January.Mr Brown, 54, is the sixth senior manager to leave since Mr Flynn took over as chief executive.
"My expectation is that by this time next week we will be back to business as usual."He was speaking as Rentokil announced the departure of the managing director of its pest control and plants division, which accounts for one-quarter of the group's turnover. The chief executive of Rentokil Initial, Doug Flynn, predicted yesterday it would be "business as usual" again in a week's time as the rat catching to potted plants group completed the shake-up of its top management. Mr Flynn said he expected Sir Gerry Robinson's attempt to wrest control of the company to end in failure come Monday's deadline for shareholders to decide whether to back Raphoe Management, the bid vehicle created by the former Granada chairman and star of the television series I'll Show Them Who's Boss. "The Raphoe exercise is a distraction but certainly not a derailment," Mr Flynn said. We want to be the most efficient bank in the UK."Abbey's chief executive, Francisco Gomez-Roldan, will give a strategic update on Abbey on Tuesday alongside third-quarter results from its parent when analysts expect Santander to announce further cost-saving targets..
