Spotless directors recommend $A2.71 a share offer from PEP
The board of trans-Tasman cleaning group Spotless has relented on its $A2.80-a-share demand to recommend a sale to Australia's Pacific Equity Partners at 9 cents lower.
BUSINESSDESK: The board of trans-Tasman cleaning group Spotless has relented on its $A2.80-a-share demand to recommend a sale to Australia’s Pacific Equity Partners, endorsing an offer that is 9 Australian cents lower.
Pacific Equity Partners is offering Spotless shareholders $A2.71 a share in cash, which includes a partially-franked special dividend, plus the fully-franked first-half dividend, the company said.
That values the company at some $A720 million. The shares last traded at $A2.46 on the ASX, valuing the company at about $A654m.
Investors who capture the full benefit of the franking will receive a total implied value of $A2.726 a share.
“Following extensive discussions with PEP, in particular over the past week, and a detailed assessment of PEP’s proposal, the Spotless board has determined that, under the present circumstances, the scheme is in the best interest of shareholders,” it said in a statement.
The board’s recommendation ends 11 months of takeover talk swirling around the cleaning services group after it knocked back a $A2.50-a-share offer in May last year, and talked up Pacific Equity’s $A2.63 bid in December.
Spotless said its key considerations were the significant disruption to the business since Pacific Equity launched its bid, the lack of an alternative offer, support for a sale by existing shareholders and the potential off of value if the uncertainty wasn’t resolved.
Paul McBeth
Mon, 30 Apr 2012
Mon, 30 Apr 2012
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
Spotless directors recommend $A2.71 a share offer from PEP
20372