British warehouse owner Segro will buy Tritax EuroBox in a deal valuing the European logistics real estate firm at about 1.10 billion pounds ($1.44 billion) including debt, the companies said on Wednesday.

The deal could ignite a bidding war for Tritax EuroBox, which has been in talks with Canada's Brookfield Asset Management about a possible deal.

Tritax's properties span seven countries in mainland Europe, focusing on logistics and distribution supply chains, serving clients in the manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, retail, and e-commerce sectors.

Shares in Tritax, which have rallied more than 24% since Brookfield's interest was made public in early June, rose marginally on Wednesday to 66.7 pence. Segro shares slipped 1.8%.

Segro's planned purchase of Tritax comes as it is seeing its UK property values increase for the first time since 2022. The British firm said the deal would complement its existing assets in Europe.

The all-share transaction, which has the backing of Tritax's board, implies a deal value of about 68.4 pence per share, a nearly 3% premium to the target's closing price on Tuesday.

Tritax shareholders would get 0.0765 new Segro shares as part of the deal.

The company said it had fielded interest from a number of other parties, and believes that a deal with Segro represented a compelling opportunity for an immediate uplift in value for its shareholders.

Tritax EuroBox's shares had been struggling over the past three years, losing nearly half of their value from an all time high reached in 2021. The company had been exploring strategic options in April, including a managed wind down and a significant share buyback funded by disposals.

($1 = 0.7630 pounds)

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong and Shanima A in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Varun H K; Editing by Sharon Singleton)