UK-listed private equity investor SVG has advised its shareholders to reject HarbourVest’s £1 billion unsolicited takeover bid, and is braced for a crunch 72 hours of talks with advisers and rival suitors after pledging to provide an update on the status of talks by Monday.

Andrew Sykes, chairman of SVG Capital, said in a statement on September 29: "The company has a portfolio of highly attractive assets that continue to perform well and the board recognises the scarcity value of these and the appeal of our investment portfolio to financial buyers. The current offer represents a discount of 16.5% to the value of the investment portfolio at July 31, 2016 and undervalues the company."