On the go: A private equity firm, which saw its £3bn takeover proposal rejected by G4S, has complained that it is not being granted access to the security services company’s defined benefit scheme trustees.
As first reported by The Times, BC Partners — which owns 51 per cent of GardaWorld, the Canadian company that made a public offer for G4S on Monday — claimed that it is being obstructed in its attempt to outline proposals to deal with the scheme’s £276m pensions deficit.
In a statement, BC Partners said: “We are very concerned that the G4S pension scheme has been persistently underfunded over many years.
“Any sense that the trustees would act obstructively as a result of pressure from the current management would be extremely damaging to our view of the prospects and value of this business.”
According to The Times, Allan Course, a professional trustee and independent chairman of the G4S pension scheme trustees, as well as a spokesperson for the company, declined to comment on this matter.
G4S has committed to making deficit repair contributions of £53m a year to the scheme, which is more than twice the group’s reported profits for last year.
BC Partners has yet to disclose its plans to deal with the liabilities.
