Macmahon Holdings Ltd's takeover bid for Ausdrill Ltd will not be declared unconditional as shareholders reverse their decisions to accept the offer.
Macmahon Holdings Ltd's takeover bid for Ausdrill Ltd will not be declared unconditional as shareholders reverse their decisions to accept the offer.
Macmahon announced today that it will not declare its offer free of conditions tomorrow, which will now see the offer lapse on September 29.
"...the Offer will lapse unless the level of acceptances increases to more than 50 per cent of Ausdrill shares during the last seven days of the offer period, which is due to close on Monday, 29 September," Mamcahon said.
"Macmahon believes that this is now unlikely."
The company is offering 1.65 of its shares for every Ausdrill share, and earlier this morning advised the market that acceptances under its facility had declined from 13.12 per cent to 10.59 per cent.
Meanwhile its relevant interest in Ausdrill increased from 0.79 per cent to 1.49 per cent.
Below is the full announcement:
Macmahon Holdings Limited ("Macmahon") announced today that it will not declare its takeover Offer for Ausdrill Limited ("Ausdrill") free of conditions tomorrow.
As a result, the Offer will lapse unless the level of acceptances increases to more than 50 per cent of Ausdrill shares during the last seven days of the offer period, which is due to close on Monday, 29 September. Macmahon believes that this is now unlikely.
Chief Executive Officer, Nick Bowen, commented that the Board considers that the Offer of 1.65 Macmahon shares for every Ausdrill share remains a compelling proposition for Ausdrill shareholders.
"The combination of Macmahon and Ausdrill would create an outstanding diversified mining contracting and civil construction company," he said.
"The Offer delivers a value of more than $3.00 per Ausdrill share, a price well in excess of the highest price at which Ausdrill has ever traded, at a time of great uncertainty in financial markets.
"Unfortunately our view of the value creation opportunities available to both sets of shareholders is not shared by the Ausdrill Board.
"The challenge is now there for Mr Sayers and the Ausdrill Board to deliver a share price equivalent to our Offer."
"The outlook for Macmahon remains extremely positive and the record full year result highlights the strength of this business. Our focus remains on continuing to grow this business while delivering sustainable profits. This ambition is not dependent on the acquisition of Ausdrill," Mr Bowen said.
