Australian private equity group BGH Capital has made an approach to dual-listed donations/payments group Pushpay after securing a 20% pre-bid stake and confirming that it and another shareholder are working on a bid proposal.
That news, to the ASX and New Zealand exchanges yesterday (it is listed on both), saw Pushpay ask for trading in its shares to be halted with an indication the halt could last to Thursday.
In the end, however, the halt lasted far shorter than expected and the relisting saw the shares leap 17% to a day’s high of $1.31, the highest they have been for a month.
Before yesterday’s announcement, Pushpay’s share price was down 42% from its 52-week high of $1.925.
That was despite a statement on April 26 revealing it had received approaches from third unnamed parties. The company said that since that announcement, it had received approaches from other parties.
Pushpay revealed it had “recently received unsolicited, non-binding and conditional expressions of interest or approaches from third parties looking to acquire the Company.
“The Board has appointed Goldman Sachs to assist as financial advisor. There is no certainty that these expressions of interest or approaches will result in any transaction.
The statement said associated interests of BGH Capital and Sixth Street (both existing shareholders) released substantial product holder notices to NZX under which those parties disclosed an aggregate relevant interest in PPH shares of 20.343% as a result of an agreement between them under which they have agreed to co-operate in respect of a potential acquisition of PPH.
“The request for the trading halt is to provide PPH with sufficient time to review the co-operation agreement and prepare an appropriate update to the market.”
Pushpay cautioned investors that it “has not entered an agreement with any party, including either or both of BGH Capital and Sixth Street, to implement a transaction.
Pushpay said it was continuing with a process that is already underway and “is in an early stage with multiple parties, to explore the potential for a transaction which is in the best interests of shareholders as a whole.”
But Pushpay failed to provide any further details, such as the takeover price that is being proposed.
The shares settled back to end at $1.295 (up 15.6%), so a deal price could be around $1.30 (otherwise why would the shares rise to around that level after the trading halt ended?).
So, shareholders may have to sit tight until BGH Capital and Sixth Street, or one of the other “multiple parties” referred to in the statement, produces a firm offer.
