Peel's Pinewood deal in doubt as jewellery chain takes a sta

[Blowfeld]

Peel Holdings' takeover of Pinewood Shepperton, the film studios behind the James Bond franchise, has been thrown into confusion by a jewellery chain from the north of England.

By Jonathan Sibun and Amanda Andrews

5:45AM BST 17 Jun 2011

Warren James is believed to have acquired a 15pc stake in Pinewood, potentially threatening Peel's plan to take full control of the business.

Peel, which is run by property developer John Whittaker, agreed a 200p-a-share takeover of Pinewood in April, valuing the film studio at £96.1m. The shares yesterday rose 13.1 to 212p.

Warren James has since been building a shareholding, and is yesterday thought to have picked up 4m shares.

The stake will not allow the jewellers chain to block a deal – Peel only needs the backing of 50.1pc of Pinewood's shares and already owns 29.8pc of the business with further backing from major investor Crystal Amber – but could stop Mr Whittaker from forcing minority shareholders out of the company.

Warren James' intentions remain unclear but it could try to force a higher offer from Peel or be acting on a belief that a rival suitor could enter the frame. A Swiss investment fund is believed to be running a sliderule across the company.

Mohammed Fayed, the former owner of Harrods, contacted Pinewood's board about a potential 250p a share bid in April.

Warren James could not be reached for comment.

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[Omega]

this actually mean anything for production of Bond 23?