Shares in Matrix Composites & Engineering rose strongly today but are still slightly below the price at which Advanced Innergy Holdings plans to bid for the Perth company.
Shares in Matrix Composites & Engineering rose strongly today but are still slightly below the price at which Advanced Innergy Holdings plans to bid for the Perth company.
Matrix shares closed at 36 cents today after peaking at 38 cents.
That was after AIG announced late on Monday a non-binding indicative proposal to acquire Matrix for 40 cents cash per share.
AIG followed up today with details of the options agreement it has struck with five Matrix shareholders, putting its foot on a 19.9 per cent stake in the target.
The agreements are with five Melbourne-based shareholders – Lempip Superannuation Fund, Clevie 2 Pty Ltd, Adams Lee Family Trust, Somar Global Fund and Collins St Asset Management.
AIH’s 40 cents per share offer represents a 66 per cent premium to Matrix’s trading price last Thursday, before AIH struck the options deals.
Matrix is valued at about $100 million after today’s share price jump.
AIH, which describes itself as a materials science technology company, is valued at $359 million after completing a $150 million capital raising and listing on the ASX last October.
In a statement released late on Monday, AIH said the proposed acquisition was a key part of its strategy to build a market leading technical buoyancy and subsea ancillaries platform and establish its manufacturing presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
It asserted that the combination of AIH and Matrix would create a platform “well positioned to capture a greater share of value in a growing market”.
Matrix’s Henderson manufacturing facility would provide AIH with “an immediately deployable regional production base for both local and global supply”.
The cash offer is a major shift from a takeover proposal submitted last year.
AIH’s previous proposal was a reverse takeover designed to both acquire Matrix and give the UK-based group a listing on the ASX.
Matrix rejected the scrip-based proposal, which it said would have left its shareholders with just 20 per cent of the combined group.
The highly conditional nature of the proposal, including the requirement to complete a material capital raising, also influenced Matrix’s decision to reject it.
Matrix was non-committal on the latest proposal, saying it was being assessed and that shareholders do not need to take any action.
