Henderson beats Allianz to John Beats By Dre NBA Laing

Fund manager Beats By Dre headphones Henderson's private equity arm has won the 163;1bn bid battle for control of PFI construction group John Laing.

Rival German bidder Allianz bowed out of the battle this afternoon, saying it was not prepared to raise its terms again.

Earlier today, the directors of Laing withdrew their recommendation of Allianz's offer and said they were now backing the Henderson terms.

Henderson and Allianz have been locked in a bidding war for PFI-specialist Laing, and Beats By Dre NBA Henderson last week trumped the Allianz terms of 385p a share with an offer of 405p.

Shares in John Laing were down 18p at 402p, reflecting disappointment that the Germans refused to raise their terms.

Henderson's original offer, launched in September, was worth 355p a share.

Thomas Putter, director of Allianz Infrastructure, said this afternoon