Shanks Group, Britain's only listed waste management firm, has confirmed that it has rejected a takeover bid for around 534 Million Pounds, without disclosing the identity of the bidder. The company however did hint that the offer was made by a "private equity group" which has led to speculations that the turned down offer was made by Carlyle.

A Washington based firm, Carlyle has being trying to pursue Shanks for the past few months, only to be snubbed each time. The company has the distinction of being one of the most popular equity groups of the US, and proudly counts former US President George W Bush and John Major, the former British Prime Minister, as its one time employees.

According to the information shared by Shanks, the rejected bid pegged the company's per share price at 135 pence, which is much higher than the 90 pence recorded for the firm's stock in the latest trading session. Shanks, however, feels that anything below 150 pence is unsuitable and only a value of 150 or more would "deliver an appropriate value to shareholders".

According to the giant British company, the bid was "highly preliminary and unsolicited".