Saudi Prince Poised to Join Canary Wharf Bid

LONDON-Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal may join the Morgan Stanley consortium bidding for Canary Wharf.

Newspaper reports suggest the prince, who owns 2% of Canary Wharf, has had talks with the Morgan Stanley. The consortium also includes Simon Glick, who holds 14% of Canary Wharf.

Should the talks amount to anything it would be a blow to former chairman Paul Reichmann who owns 7.7% of the company and is trying to put together a rival offer. He is understood to have already approached the prince.

Reichmann has had difficulty in finding backers, although he is being advised by Lehman Brothers, which could decide to back him and which has a large property investment arm.

A third possible offer could come from Canadian-based Brascan, which owns 14% of Canary Wharf and is forming its own consortium.Brascan, backed by Canary Wharf shareholders Franklin Mutual Advisors and UBS, has support from investors owning at least 18% of Canary Wharf.