Amcom Chairman, Tony Grist, has come out stating his confusion over why TPG would want to disrupt Vocus’ proposed $635 million acquisition of the Perth-based telco.
TPG increased its holding in Amcom to about 18.6 per cent in a bid to vote against the buyout, but it has no intention of putting a counter proposal on the table.
“We are confused as to why TPG would want to disrupt a transaction that is demonstrably in the best interests of all shareholders, particularly when they have no intention of providing shareholders with an alternative proposal,” Amcom chairman, Tony Grist, said.
“It would be disappointing to see a transaction which has received strong support from our 8000 shareholders blocked by a minority shareholder who is acting in their own interest. We would of course be happy to talk to TPG to discuss their intentions.”
TPG is a long standing shareholder of Amcom and stated that it supported the continued operation of Amcom as a standalone business under the stewardship of the current board of directors and management team.
Despite this, Amcom directors see the acquisition by Vocus as highly complementary and it will continue to recommend to shareholders that they vote in favour of the Scheme in the absence of a superior proposal.
“The Board of Amcom believes that should TPG be successful in blocking the Scheme, it would be to the detriment of all remaining shareholders in Amcom, particularly as the Amcom share price is likely to fall in the absence of the Scheme or a superior proposal,” Amcom stated. “In discussions with Vocus, they have also noted that they intend to refer the recent developments involving TPG to the ACCC.”
In December, Vocus was given the green light to acquire Amcom for $2.45 per share in an all scrip transaction, valuing the acquisition at about $635 million.
The combined entities will have a market cap of about $1.1 billion, creating a national corporate, government and wholesale telecommunications infrastructure provider.
