Tower announces acquisition bid
Tower has made an acquisition bid for 100 per cent of the shares in Fidelity Life Assurance Company. The offer was made in accordance with the New Zealand Takeovers Code and the earliest the offer can be formally posted is 15 October, 2010.
The firm is offering $118 million, being $82 per Fidelity share, comprising $55 in cash and $27 in the market value equivalent in Tower shares. The terms of the offer have been based on the limited publicly available information on Fidelity and Tower will shortly table a request to Fidelity’s directors to access certain additional information in relation to the company.
Tower’s offer represents a small premium to the last traded price for Fidelity, which sat at $80. The inclusion of Tower shares as well as cash will also enable Fidelity shareholders to retain an interest in the combined company. The proposed offer is subject to certain conditions. Goldman Sachs & Partners is acting as financial adviser to Tower.
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