Having hyped the entire market into believing that he would be launching a bid for Extel Group Plc as soon as he was free to do so – and in the interim buying more shares at the end of last month, Robert Maxwell now says he won’t be making a bid for Extel, sending the shares into a 38 pence tailspin to 490 pence – but with about 27% of Extel’s equity held by various Maxwell companies, he is still in a key position to determine the future of the company; the Maxwell holdings are now to be sold off.
