Defending a hostile bid is intricate, painstaking work for PR firms
representing their clients. Defences can go on for weeks on end, with
plans jealously guarded to keep the opposition guessing ... usually,
that is.
Word reaches me that there was a bit of a panic on at Schroders last
week after a press release detailing client Allied Colloids response to
a hostile bid from US chemicals group Hercules contained just a bit too
much detail.
One particularly alarming paragraph in the release contained information
on Allied’s secret defence strategy for the next few weeks.
However, disaster was averted by the Schroders press office which rang
around City journalists asking them not to reveal the ’secret’ battle
plans.
Just why Schroders was sending out press releases when Allied Colloids
uses Lowe Bell Financial as its retained agency is another question.
A source close to Schroders called the incident a ’technical hitch’.
It sent out a corrected release within the hour.
