‘Cat and mouse play’: EQT’s unusual clause in $2.6b Perpetual bid
Market watchers are questioning the Swedish private equity fund’s unusually strict confidentiality clause in a revised bid for Perpetual.
EQT’s revised $2.55 billion offer to acquire Perpetual contained an unusually strongly-worded confidentiality clause that was violated almost immediately. The market is now questioning whether the Swedish private equity firm is playing games.
After its initial $21.64 cash per share non-binding indicative offer was rejected on 2 July, EQT lobbed a 2% higher bid, at $22.07 a share, on Wednesday evening.
But despite the revised indicative offer stating it would be “regarded as being automatically withdrawn if it is disclosed”, according to Perpetual’s announcement, the financial services provider almost immediately disclosed the bid.
This seems to have made no difference as to whether it remains on the table.
