Atlas Arteria shuts down ‘extremely hostile’ IFM bid — but opens the door to a higher offer
Atlas chair Debbie Goodin said she was blindsided by IFM as it made its takeover approach, but remains open to an improved bid.
Toll road operator Atlas Arteria may have firmly shut down a $7 billion hostile takeover offer by its largest shareholder, IFM Investors, on Tuesday. But chair Debbie Goodin has made no secret that she’ll hold the door open for an improved offer from the Melbourne-headquartered investment manager.
“IFM can and should pay more, so if IFM wants to come back and have a conversation with us about how we maximise value, then of course we’re very open to doing that,” she told Capital Brief.
Atlas Arteria issued a target’s statement on Tuesday, describing the $4.75-per-share bid as “too low, opportunistic and highly conditional”.
It accompanied an independent expert report by Kroll which put the company’s control valuation range at between $5.39 and $6.20 per share. It concluded IFM’s offer, announced last month, was “neither fair nor reasonable”.
