It’s the end of a year-long battle.
Primary Health Care (PRY) has all but won control of Symbion Health (SYB), with the announcement that the company now owns 52.27% of the takeover target, up from 49.70% on Friday.
Symbion said it would recommend shareholders accept the $2.1 billion offer if Primary gained formal acceptances of more than 50.1% and declared its bid unconditional.
Last Wednesday, Primary released an all-cash offer of $4.10 per Symbion share, which it claimed was its final offer and would not be increased.
In a long-running courtship, Symbion had previously recommended that shareholders reject Primary’s bid with the argument that it was highly conditional and did not provide an adequate sharing of the benefits available to Primary from gaining control.
Nevertheless, last Thursday Symbion released the following statement:
“In the event that Primary achieves interests in Symbion Health of greater than 50.1% and declares its offer unconditional, the Symbion Health board will reconsider its recommendation in light of the lifting of conditions, effective control of Symbion Health passing to Primary, and current share market conditions,"
Late in 2007, Primary said it would declare its offer unconditional upon achieving majority interest. However, it failed to achieve this target by the designated deadline.
Since then, Primary has continued to slowly build its interest in Symbion since the sharp fall in the stock market this year.
Assuming control of Symbion will mean Primary will effectively own 36% of Australia’s $2.06 billion pathology market, making it the nation’s second-biggest privately owned provider behind Sonic Healthcare which has 38%.
Primary’s main takeover rival in the bid for Symbion, Healthscope, which was forced to scrap a $2.8 billion offer for Primary in December, has 18% of the market.
Primary’s offer, which it said last week it would not raise, is due to close on February 21.
Shares in Primary closed down by 20 cents at $10.22 while Symbion rose by 10 cents to finish at $4.07.
