The board of Informa has come under sharp criticism from some of its leading shareholders following this week’s revelation that the publisher is in the early stages of talks to acquire its debt-laden German rival Springer Science and Business Media.
Andy Brough, fund manager at Schroders, which owns 2.7 per cent of the FTSE 250 publisher and is its fifth largest shareholder, said: “This management team turned down bids at 630p and 450p. They raised equity in a £242m rights issues last May and now they want to return to shareholders?” The shares closed on Friday at 282½p.
