The National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) intervenes in the takeover war that aplus is suffering and suspends the processing of the last offer presented. As reported by the regulator, the proposal of the ISQ and TDR funds through their vehicle Amber EquityCo, is “subject to the regime of competing offers and its processing is suspended” until it authorizes Apollo’s proposal.
ISQ and TDR presented this Thursday a public acquisition offer with a price of 9.75 euros per share, which means improving Apollo’s (9.5 euros) by more than 2%, in addition to being in any case lower than the current listing price, which is around 9.9 euros after Thursday’s ‘acceleration’. Over the year as a whole, it revalued more than 50%. It should be remembered that last June I Squared and TDR confirmed their intention to take over the group, although Apollo went ahead. With yesterday’s movement they intensify the bid from which Apax previously withdrew.
Precisely this Friday, the board of directors of Applus has positively valued the takeover bid at 9.75 euros per share launched by Amber, since it provides Applus shareholders “the option to monetize their investment in the company with a premium over the Unaffected trading price of the shares and at a higher price than that of the Apollo takeover.
However, the group’s highest governing body has warned that it plans to issue a report expressing its opinion on Amber’s takeover bid once it is authorized by the CNMV and within ten days following the start of the offer acceptance period. . . In this sense, Applus has revealed that it provided Amber with access to non-public information about the company so that she could evaluate the launch of her counter-takeover bid.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine and the gradual increase in interest rates, Applus+ has appeared in most analysts’ pools as a candidate to receive an offer that would delist it from the stock market. In this sense, since rumors began that there was interest from several companies, the certification firm has been in the spotlight of several investment funds and has been the subject of different movements in its capital.
JP Morgan has been one of the last to make a move and strengthen itself as the main shareholder with 8.65% of the capital from the 8.004% it held at the beginning of the month, a percentage that has gradually increased since last July, when it held a stake in 1.125% in the Catalan company. Applus is characterized by having a very fragmented shareholding, which is distributed between Morgan Stanley (6.65%), DWS (5.26%), Southeastern AM (5.14%) and Barclays (4.5%).
