FTSE 100 property company Segro has accepted a £14bn takeover bid from US-based rival Prologis, ending a protracted battle between the two real estate giants and dealing another blow to the London Stock Exchange.

Segro, one of the UK's largest owners of warehouses and industrial properties, traces its roots back to 1920 and has been a core constituent of the FTSE 100. Its removal from the index would leave the benchmark with fewer large-cap property names, continuing a trend that has seen blue-chip companies acquired or relocate abroad.

Prologis, the world's largest logistics real estate company with a global portfolio spanning over 5,500 facilities across 20 countries, confirmed on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with Segro's board, valuing the British firm at £14.3bn. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of next year.

Under the terms of the deal, Segro shareholders will receive 0.92 Prologis shares for each Segro share, alongside a partial cash alternative totalling £3.5bn. Segro shareholders will also be entitled to the company's interim dividend of 10.14p per share, as well as the final dividend scheduled to be declared in March.

Prologis stated that the final agreed offer represents a 39 per cent premium to Segro's share price on the day it made its initial takeover approach.

The acquisition marks the latest high-profile departure from the London Stock Exchange, with 11 companies valued above £1bn having exited the market through takeovers so far this year. The deal ranks among the largest UK property transactions on record and underscores growing US appetite for European logistics assets, which have attracted heightened investor interest as e-commerce penetration and supply chain reconfiguration drive demand for warehouse space.

Daniel Letter, chief executive of Prologis, said: "This deal brings together Segro's exceptional portfolio and customer relationships with Prologis' global platform, operating expertise and financial strength."

"We look forward to building on the strengths of both companies and creating even greater value for our customers and shareholders."

"A compelling platform"

David Sleath, Segro's chief executive, said: "Prologis shares our conviction in the long-term structural drivers underpinning demand for modern logistics and data centre infrastructure."

"We believe the combination would bring together two highly complementary businesses and create a compelling platform."

(London Stock Exchange announcement)

Weeks of contention over data centre valuations

The agreement follows weeks of public disagreement between the two firms, which clashed over the valuations of their respective data centre estates.

Prologis had previously described Segro's valuation as "unrealistic," arguing that the FTSE 100 company had understated the risks tied to its "speculative, long-dated, often un-zoned and untenanted development projects."

Last month, Sleath rejected an earlier £12.6bn offer from Prologis, calling it "opportunistic, one-sided and inadequate." (City AM coverage)

Following crunch talks held on the Sunday before Prologis submitted its final offer, Segro criticised the American firm's leadership for not presenting a revised bid during the discussions. (City AM coverage)

Prologis countered, stating that the meeting was intended "not to present a further revised offer, but rather to understand whether there was a credible path to a transaction."

The data centre assets at the centre of the dispute have become increasingly strategic as surging demand from cloud computing providers and artificial intelligence workloads intensifies competition for powered land and development-ready sites across Europe.

(Earlier Segro rejection coverage)

Market reaction

Segro's share price rose one per cent to 969p in early trading following the announcement.