Trust Company continues to back Perpetual buyout



The Trust Company has once again backed Perpetual’s takeover proposal, after months of holding out for a potential better offer.
After prolonged deliberations over a 100 per cent buy out proposal from Perpetual, board members considered and rejected an alternative Equities Trustees offer after a comparative analysis found it would offer lower share price.
It follows Equities Trustees eleventh hour bid of 39 EQT shares for every 100 TRU shares earlier this week.
However, on an 8.8 per cent premium, the revised Equities Trustees offer was valued at $7.69 per share earlier this week, compared to Perpetual’s $8.37 per share, according to Trust Company figues.
“Accordingly, The Trust Company advises shareholders to reject the Revised Equity Trustees Offer,” an Australian Stock Exchange statement said.
The directors stressed that the revised equity offer was subject to a 90 per cent minimum acceptance condition, meaning if shareholders accepted it they would void the Perpetual offer.
They also warned shareholders could receive significantly less dividends than those estimated by the Equities Trustees.
The shareholders will vote on the proposals on 28 November.
Recommended for you
As the industry navigates the fallout from recent product failures, two major AFSLs have detailed their APL selection process and relationship with research houses, warning a selection error could “destroy” a licensee.
The impending retirement of financial advisers in their 50s could see the profession face significant succession challenges over the coming decade and younger advisers may not be the answer.
With a third of AFSLs being solo advisers, how can they navigate key person risk and ensure they are still attractive propositions for buyers when it comes to their succession planning?
A quarter of advisers who commenced on the FAR within the last two years have already switched licensees or practices, adding validity to practice owners’ professional year (PY) concerns.