Trust ends due diligence with Equity Trustees
The Trust Company board has reiterated its support for the Perpetual take-over offer, stating that it is superior to that presented by IOOF and Equity Trustees, and has also ended the ongoing due diligence process with the latter.
In comments released to the Australian Stock Exchange, Trust encouraged shareholders to reject the Equity Trustees offer and stated it was “obliged to cease all discussions with third parties in relation to a potential change of control transaction with respect to the Trust Company” including Equity Trustees and IOOF as a result of a Scheme Implementation Agreement (SIA) with Perpetual.
The Trust Board stated that based on closing prices as at 12 September, the revised Perpetual proposal represents a 14.1 per cent and 6.2 per cent premium to the revised Equity Trustee and IOOF offers respectively.
It also stated the Perpetual offer was superior in that it offered higher value per share for both the scrip and cash offerings to Trust shareholders, greater flexibility to mix between cash and shares and less reliance on synergies to realise benefits from the merger.
Trust has been at the centre of five proposals from the three corporate suitors since 21 February this year, with Equity Trustees making an initial offer which was rejected by the Trust board as undervaluing the company.
Perpetual’s initial offer was accepted and the SIA entered into on 7 May. Equity Trustees made a revised offer on 21 June which was the subject of mutual due diligence arrangements.
These arrangements were still ongoing when IOOF announced its offer on 2 September, which was followed three days later by an updated offer from Perpetual. A revised SIA was released on 9 September, ending the due diligence process with Equity Trustees.
The Perpetual takeover is still subject to a Australian Competition and Consumer Commission review and if passed will not be completed till November.
Recommended for you
Professional services group AZ NGA has made its first acquisition since announcing a $240 million strategic partnership with US manager Oaktree Capital Management in September.
As Insignia Financial looks to bolster its two financial advice businesses, Shadforth and Bridges, CEO Scott Hartley describes to Money Management how the firm will achieve these strategic growth plans.
Centrepoint Alliance says it is “just getting started” as it looks to drive growth via expanding all three streams of advisers within the business.
AFCA’s latest statistics have shed light on which of the major licensees recorded the most consumer complaints in the last financial year.
