UK PE firm Cinven resigns from $2bn Sanne takeover bidding war
London private equity firm Cinven has bowed out of a $2bn-odd bidding war with US fund servicer Apex Group to buy fellow London-based FTSE 250 asset manager Sanne Group.
Cinven said it would not make another offer for Sanne, after it made a series of bids over the summer that were ultimately trumped by US entry Apex.
It comes after Cinven requested a deadline extension until August as talks continued with Sanne over its fifth proposal for the firm in June – a sweetened all cash offer of 875p per share, valuing the firm at around £1.4bn.
But this bid was ultimately rejected by Sanne and trumped by US-based Apex last month, who entered the takeover battle with a fatter offer of 920 pence per share, valuing the company at around £1.49bn (or $2.09bn).
Apex’s proposal, which represented a premium of 9 per cent on Sanne’s share closing price at the time, was agreed to by Sanne last week – as Apex met its 30 August deadline to make a firm offer to the board.
After the takeover offer was agreed, Apex chief executive Peter Hughes said: “Sanne offers an exciting opportunity to acquire a well-established alternative fund services provider with diverse and complementary jurisdictional and asset class expertise.”
Sanne shareholders will vote on the takeover bid at an AGM, and the deal is expected to complete in the first half of 2022.
Shares in Sanne Group slumped 2.04 per cent to 921 pence per share at midday on the day of the news.