InvoCare board meets as TPG’s DD runs out; binding bid not tomorrow

afr.com:

InvoCare’s shareholders will have to wait a little longer for the listed funeral group’s private equity suitor, TPG Capital, to firm up its $13 a share bid after due diligence timed out on Monday.

InvoCare is the country’s largest operator of funeral services. Dan Peled

It is understood the two camps were thrashing out the final details of the scheme implementation deed on Monday evening – but they were unlikely to have the binding bid ready to serve to investors on Tuesday morning.

TPG Capital was expected to ask for a short extension but was understood to be happy with paying $13 a share, which would value InvoCare at $2.2 billion on an enterprise valuation basis.

Should TPG and InvoCare have the binding bid good to go in the coming week as expected, it would bring to head a four-month saga. TPG started by raiding InvoCare’s register on March 6, offering $12.65 – or a juicy 41 per cent premium. It walked away with 17.8 per cent, but turned up the next morning with a scheme bid at the same price which was eventually knocked back by the board.

TPG responded by yanking its bid as April drew to an end and said it would nominate a board director at the upcoming annual meeting. It returned in mid-May with the $13 a share bid, which the bidder and the target are now trying to firm up.

InvoCare is being advised by Gresham Advisory Partners and Clayton Utz, while TPG Capital is leaning on Jarden and UBS.

Its chairman, Bart Vogel, was at the centre of another M&A tussle last year when ASX-listed Infomedia courted interest from suitors but eventually threw them out after neither could stand up a firm bid following a look at the books.

Shares closed at $12.39 on Monday evening.