Australian funeral home operator InvoCare Ltd. agreed to a revised A$1.83 billion (US1.2 billion) takeover offer from private equity firm TPG Inc.
TPG proposed a takeover offer of A$12.70 per share for the Sydney-based company, up from May’s offer of A$13 per share, according to a statement on Wednesday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. . The deal also includes a special franked or tax-free dividend of up to 60 Australian cents per share which the board says represents an implied value of up to approximately A$12.96 per share. The latest offer represents a premium of around 42% over the March 6 closing price.
The deal could close the book on the brinkmanship over terms between TPG and InvoCare’s board. TPG first approached Invocare in March with an offer of A$12.65 per share. The private equity firm briefly pulled it back the following month before making the A$13 per share offer in May. InvoCare’s board said it intended to unanimously recommend the offer if it became a binding transaction and agreed to give TPG access for due diligence.
“The board is unanimous in its opinion that this transaction is in the best interests of InvoCare shareholders,” InvoCare Chairman Bart Vogel said in the statement. “The board notes that the cash consideration provides certainty of value to InvoCare shareholders and unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor.”
InvoCare shares rose as much as 6.2% to A$12.51 in early Sydney operations.
InvoCare provides funeral services in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, and operates private crematoriums and memorial parks in Australia and New Zealand, according to its website. TPG has built up a 19.9% stake in the business, a May 10 filing from InvoCare to the stock exchange showed.
