US real estate giant Prologis is continuing its attempts to acquire UK firm Segro, despite seeing three offers rebuffed.

Prologis made its first bid to acquire Segro in late June, making an all-share offer to acquire the entirety of Segro in a deal which would value the latter company at around £12.6 billion ($16bn).

In its original proposal announcement, Prologis said the deal would “unlock the significant embedded value of Segro’s development and data center pipeline in a way that Segro will not be able to do on a standalone basis.”

Segro rejected the offer, saying it “falls a long way short” of the company’s own view of its value. The company argues it is well positioned for growth without the need for Prologis – and that any acquisition would dilute the long-term upside to existing shareholders.

Prologis has since made two further offers to buy Segro, one on 10 July that was rejected on 12 July, and another that was made on 16 July and rejected the following day.

The latest offer valued each Segro share at £9.93 ($13.31), valuing the overall company at £13.5bn ($18.09bn) – and includes a partial cash alternative of up to £2.7bn ($3.62bn). Segro’s share is currently trading at £8.80 ($11.79), for a market cap of £11.91bn ($15.96bn).

Despite the acquiring firm calling the offer “a compelling opportunity,” Segro execs reportedly told Prologis: “We see no merit in the proposed combination.”

Undeterred by the three rejections, Prologis is still urging Segro shareholders to urge the board to approve the proposed acquisition.

If completed, Segro shareholders would hold around 9.2 percent of Prologis. Prologis said it also aims to explore the feasibility of a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange if there is sufficient investor demand.

In its own announcement this week, Prologis said it met with Segro management over the weekend in order to “understand whether there was a credible path to a transaction capable of recommendation by the Segro board.”

“We were disappointed that the discussion did not provide meaningful clarity regarding the matters that would enable further progress,” Prologis said.

“Prologis remains convinced that a combination would create substantial long-term value,” the company added. “However, highly disciplined capital allocation has always been fundamental to our strategy and our responsibility to Prologis shareholders. We remain ready to engage constructively at any time in the interests of all shareholders.”

Segro, meanwhile, says there is “substantial embedded value” in the company, and the firm has a “clear strategy and the tools to deliver that on a standalone basis.”

“Prologis’s proposal to takeover Segro will not accelerate Segro’s execution on its growth strategy, it will simply transfer 100 per cent of this upside to Prologis in return for a diluted c.9 per cent interest in the enlarged company,” Segro said.

Segro added Prologis’s proposals were made during a “period of temporary market dislocation” following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, temporarily depressing the former’s valuation relative to Prologis close to a five-year low.

However, Segro is keeping the door open, saying that should Prologis submit an offer that “appropriately reflects” the value of the UK firm, it would continue to engage with its would-be acquirer.

Andy Harrison, chairman of Segro, said: “The board does not believe that Prologis’s latest proposal to acquire Segro reflects the quality, scarcity or long-term prospects of Segro’s portfolio and platform and has been rejected unanimously by the board. The board is seeking to maximize value for shareholders and would further engage on any proposal which appropriately reflects the considerable embedded value and prospects of our business. We will continue to engage with our shareholders and remain focused on executing our clear strategy that underpins superior value creation.”

Prologis is a major US real estate firm, traditionally focused on industrial warehouses and logistics facilities. The company has a growing line in developing data centers, however. The NYSE-listed company says it has some 5.6GW of power committed by utilities or in advanced stages of negotiations and is targeting up to 10GW of capacity over the next ten years.

LSE-listed Segro is also traditionally known for its industrial warehouse developments, but has been providing powered shells to data center customers for around 20 years, mostly centered around Slough to the west of London. The firm is expanding its focus and is targeting ~3GW of data center developments across major markets in Europe in the coming years.

Last month, an activist investor accused Segro of “undervaluing” its high-growth data center division, suggesting the company spin off its data center arm and float a 20-30 percent stake in the Netherlands.

Prologis previously made an all-share proposal to acquire Segro in March 2024, valuing the latter firm at £9.63 ($12.90) per share. That offer was rejected and dismissed as “opportunistic” by Segro.