Sharechat Logo

Trade Me suitor Hellman & Friedman drops out

Thursday 13th December 2018

Text too small?

Trade Me suitor Hellman & Friedman has dropped out of the race to buy New Zealand's dominant online marketplace.

Rival Apax Partners yesterday got into the box seat with a $6.45 per share offer winning over Trade Me's board to agree to a scheme of arrangement. The $2.56 billion offer matched an indicative bid from US private equity firm Hellman & Friedman and was an improvement on the $6.40 a share pitch initially put forward by Britain's Apax. 

Trade Me shares slipped 6 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $6.31 after the company said Hellman & Friedman did not intend to make a better offer. 

Hellman & Friedman was granted access to Trade Me's books and the Kiwi company's board can consider an unsolicited superior offer, provided they gave Apax the opportunity to counter. If Trade Me doesn't stick to the terms of the agreement, it faces a $19.2 million break fee, or the equivalent of 4.8 cents per share. 

A scheme of arrangement has a lower bar to get shareholders over the line, requiring 75 percent support and at least half the company's votes cast, as opposed to the 90 percent threshold needed in a formal takeover to enforce mop-up provisions. The High Court and the Overseas Investment Office will also need to approve the transaction.

A vote is expected to be held in April next year. 

Trade Me's board is restricted from seeking another buyer and has to unanimously endorse Apax's offer provided it falls within an independent valuation range. 

(BusinessDesk)



  General Finance Advertising    

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:
Your name:
Your email:
Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Related News:

AIA - June 2025 Monthly traffic update
CHI - Q2 2025 Operational Update
July 15th Morning Report
BPG - Blackpearl Acquires US AI Platform to Accelerate Growth
TGG - Response to media speculation
ARB - Annual Meeting Date and Director Nominations
CNU - Q4 FY25 Connections Update
MOVE FY25 Results and Investor Briefing 29 August 2025
RYM - First quarter trading update
July 11th Morning Report