ARN ups SCA takeover offer after rejection
ARN Media has upped its offer to take over Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) just a week after the network rejected the takeover bid.
In its proposal last October, the offer would have seen SCA shareholders receive 0.753 ARN shares and 29.6 cents cash per SCA share. However, in an ASX listing issued on Friday, ARN said it is now willing to increase that “to up to 0.870 ARN shares per fully diluted SCA share”.
Last Thursday, SCA knocked back the bid – which would see ARN, alongside Anchorage Capital Partners, create a “focused” metro radio network of 10 stations across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth with each city featuring a KIIS and Triple M brand – with the board saying that “the current terms of the Indicative Proposal undervalue SCA and, as a result, the Indicative Proposal is not in the best interests of SCA shareholders”.
In response to the rejection, ARN issued its own statement on Friday: “The Consortium disagrees with this assessment and continues to see the Proposed Transaction as a unique opportunity for SCA and ARN shareholders to unlock immediate and long-term value creation in broadcast radio and digital audio, with SCA shareholders also realising significant cash proceeds and gaining potential access to franking credits.
It must have been a shock for ARN when the initial rejection note came through.
ARN has paid overs for Kyle and Jackie, and now it looks like they will pay some massive overs to remove the eyes from SCA. I wonder if they are going to say that they are going to buy out Spotify next.