The tenacious takeover attempts by Carillion have been given a helping hand in their efforts to buy up Alfred McAlpine; a key shareholder has had a change of heart.

Audley Capital, which has a 5 per cent stake in McAlpine, has said it was now "considering its options" after holding discussions with Carillion. Audley had previously been insistent on getting 600p a share as apposed to Carillion's recent offer of 570p.

The pressure is mounting on the Construction firm when in mid October the company saw its 15 per cent shareholder, Schroders, express interest in the Carillion bid going ahead. Schroders also has a 20 per cent stake in Carillion and it would mean any deal would be doubly lucrative for the global asset management company.

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The result of a successful takeover by Carillion would culminate in the assembly of the second largest construction firm in the UK.

With the amount of McAlpine shareholders interested in the deal now standing at 20 per cent, McAlpine will have to take the approach seriously and open its books for Carillion to closer inspect its finances, which may affect the price of any future bid.

Share prices for McAlpine have seen an unusual jump towards the end of October, heightening speculation that a deal may be closer than first thought. Analysts are recommending that market traders hold for the moment, awaiting the results from Carillion's look through McAlpines books.

(DW/JM)