Grupo Mexico Folds GAP Takeover Bid

Mexican miner and railway operator Grupo Mexico has decided to desist in its takeover pursuit of the Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (GAP), it says. The company notified regulators that it will no longer pursue its public offer for shares of GAP, which it launched in June 2011. Back then, the conglomerate owned a 20% stake in class B shares when it launched a MXP50.00 ($3.90) per share tender offer to GAP shareholders in a bid for control. A Grupo Mexico spokesperson declines to offer additional details, while GAP officials could not immediately be reached for comment. This latest move by Grupo Mexico comes less than a month after GAP managed to secure a number of legal provisions in its case against the brokerages that were acquiring its shares in the open market. The legal move demanded that all those acquiring shares must obey the company’s statutes forbidding any shareholder from directly or indirectly owning more than a 10% stake in GAP. As of January, Grupo Mexico already had accumulated a 33.8% stake in the airport operator.