Weiss's role in $A220m bid for GPG subsidiary

Former Guinness Peat Group board member Gary Weiss is part of a low-ball bid for the company’s second biggest asset.

This morning an entity controlled and owned by private equity shop Crescent Capital Partners Management lodged an all-cash offer for ClearView Wealth at a price of 50c-a-share.

GPG is ClearView’s largest shareholder with a 48% stake and responded in a statement saying the price offered was “wholly inadequate”.

In its bidder statement CCP BidCo proposes that if successful it would replace the current non-executive directors of the ClearView board with its own nominees, including Dr Weiss as independent non-executive chairman.

“[Dr Weiss] has extensive international business experience and has been involved in numerous cross-border mergers and acquisitions,” the CCP BidCo statement noted.

Dr Weiss was a long-serving director at GPG and led most of the Australian acquisitions, including the purchase of ClearView shares.

He left GPG in April last year, taking with him with a $3 million pay packet.

A close associate of GPG founder Sir Ron Brierley, Dr Weiss had proposed splitting GPG in two with its Australian investments run separately under his direction.

However, institutional shareholders baulked at the idea and instead GPG resolved to wind up its investment portfolio and return capital to shareholders.

GPG shares gained 1c to 46c on the NZX following the announcement.

In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange CCP BidCo Pty said the offer price represented an 8% premium to ClearView's three-month volume weighted average price and 11% higher than GPG's valuation in its 2011 annual report.

"This offer provides the opportunity for GPG to realise its investment in ClearView at a premium above its book value," Crescent managing partner Michael Alscher said.

ClearView's stock jumped 14%to 53 Australian cents following the announcement, valuing it at about $A233 million.

The stock is rated a "buy" in a consensus of two recommendations compiled by Reuters, with a median target price of 60 Australian cents per share.

Mr Alscher said the $A220 million offer provides ClearView shareholders with the opportunities to sell some or all of their holdings "at a premium in a company that has low historical trading volumes and liquidity".

"We have a strong track record in growing businesses and we are keen to work with ClearView's current management," he said.

"Our focus will be to accelerate the growth of the business. As a committed shareholder, we are confident we can help ClearView grow its market share and become a more substantial provider of life insurance and wealth management solutions to the market."

GPG’s response was brief and to the point:

“In GPG’s opinion, the price offered represents a substantial discount to the fair value of ClearView Wealth Limited and is wholly inadequate.”