Iress opens books to EQT after higher $2.35bn bid

Australia’s Iress Ltd said on Wednesday it had opened its books to EQT after the Sweden-based private equity firm made a revised proposal to buy the software provider for an enterprise value of $2.35bn.

Iress said last month it had rejected two earlier bids from EQT, the latest of which valued it at up to A$2.96bn, on the grounds that it did not provide a compelling value to shareholders.

The revised A$15.91 per share offer was up from a proposal of between A$15.30 and A$15.50 per share tabled earlier, and at a 10.8% premium to the stock’s last close. The offer includes a cash consideration of A$15.75 apiece and an interim dividend of up to 16 Australian cents per Iress share.

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Iress said it had agreed to grant EQT a 30-day exclusivity period to conduct due diligence. EQT did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Goldman Sachs is serving as a financial adviser to Iress, while its board is also being independently advised by Gresham Partners. 

Source: Reuters

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