Countrywide will soon face a takeover attempt, predicts industry watcher

John Bodinham, an industry watcher, minior Countrywide investor and former agent, says his gut feeling is that the company is very likely to face a takeover attempt sooner or later. The 64-year-old, who is based in Wales and has a substantial track record in the residential and commercial property sectors, says his research into Countrywide points to a takeover attempt by Robin Paterson soon. As The Negotiator recently reported, Paterson has been buying up Countrywide shares in recent weeks and now owns just over 10% of its stock. Bodinham reckons Paterson is a bit too ‘long in the tooth’ to hang around and would have no difficulty getting some investors on board to join him ‘as he is a performer’. Successful career “Paterson has enjoyed a long and successful career so this could be a last roll of the dice – therefore why bother making a move unless you are going to go the whole hog,” says Bodinham. He says an offer of £2.75 a share ‘would win the races’ which would value the company at approximately £95 million. “Add on the estimated £75 million debt the company is carrying and you have £170 million for a clean slate –…