H.R. Owen recommends investors accept BPI takeover bid

LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The board of upmarket British car dealer H.R. Owen on Friday recommended that shareholders accept a 42 million pounds ($65 million) takeover offer by Philippine investment group Berjaya Philippines .

BPI, which is controlled by Malaysian tycoon Vincent Tan, offered 170 pence per share after buying a 10 percent stake held by JP Morgan (Other OTC: JPYYL - news) , taking its holding in H.R. Owen to 41.5 percent.

In July H.R. Owen rejected a 130 pence per share, or 32.5 million pound, takeover offer from BPI, calling the bid "unacceptable".

The car dealer said the offer represented a premium of 40.5 percent to its closing share price on July 16, the day prior to BPI's original Offer.

H.R. Owen is Britain's largest luxury and supercar dealership, selling high-end vehicles such as Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Bentleys and Rolls Royces.

Berjaya Phillippines, which is a subsidiary of the Berjaya Group, founded by Cardiff City soccer club owner Tan, bought a 29.8 percent stake in HR Owen (LSE: HRO.L - news) for 8.3 million pounds in June.

H.R. Owen shareholders have until Sept. 27 to accept the offer.

Shares in H.R. Owen, which have risen 29 percent in the last three months, were 2.4 percent up by 0710 GMT, valuing the firm at around 39 million pounds.