Monash IVF shares plummet 14% as Soul Patts walks
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Shares in Monash IVF have fallen 14% in early trading after the company confirmed a consortium of Soul Patts and Genesis Capital had withdrawn its takeover bid on Wednesday.
The Monash share price fell to 70 cents in the first half hour of trading, erasing some of the gains it had enjoyed since the bid first landed last month.
The IVF company has had a horror year after it reported two different embryo mixups in the space of a few months. The first incident saw the wrong embryo implanted into a patient who subsequently gave birth to it. The second saw a patient's embryo mistakenly transferred back to her rather than to her partner as planned.
The errors led to an internal investigation and saw chief executive Michael Knaap step down and the state of Victoria impose new conditions on it. The Monash share price is down 44% year to date.
Soul Patts consortium abandons Monash IVF takeover bid
The news: A Soul Patts and Genesis Capital consortium has walked away from its non-binding indicative bid for Monash IVF.
The group had proposed a 100% acquisition at 80 cents per share in November, which Monash had rejected as "opportunistic", with its share price immediately spiking following the announcement.
An ASX notice shows Soul Patts increased its shareholding in Monash from 9% to 19% around the time of the bid.
No higher offer was reported to the market after Monash's rejection and the company did did not provide any more information around why the consortium had abandoned its bid on Wednesday.
The source: ASX
