Unexpected defeat for Macquarie in $1.3b bid on European waste company
London | Macquarie has staged a forced retreat from a £665 million ($1.27 billion) takeover bid for European waste management group Renewi, after the target refused to play ball.
The climbdown represents an unusual defeat for the Macquarie juggernaut – almost as unusual as making the highly public, unsolicited bid in the first place.
“Following multiple attempts to engage with Renewi’s board, including a revised proposal, all of which were rejected, [Macquarie Asset Management] does not feel it is in an informed position to make an offer for Renewi,” Macquarie said in a terse statement to the London Stock Exchange.
Most of Macquarie’s deals and investments are hammered out behind closed doors. Bloomberg
Macquarie was spurned despite topping up its initial offer by 4.5 per cent to £8.10 a share, with Renewi saying the revised bid still “fundamentally undervalued” the company.
Renewi’s share price nose-dived after Macquarie’s statement, shedding more than 18 per cent. The stock closed at £5.40, having soared as high as £7.37 after Macquarie first tabled its £7.75-a-share bid on September 28.
Renewi signalled a desire to remain independent and pursue its own growth path, but at least formally left the door open for an even higher bid.
“The board remains confident in the company’s future prospects as a pure play market leader in Europe’s most advanced recycling markets, and remains committed to delivering on its strategy to realise attractive profitable growth,” Renewi said in its own statement to the LSE.
“The board conveyed to Macquarie that formal engagement was possible, subject to price. However, the price level of the revised proposal did not provide a basis to provide Macquarie with access to due diligence.”
Macuqarie
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