Australia’s Reef Casino operator has announced that it has entered into a takeover bid agreement with Iris Cairns Property worth some AU$177 million ($116.34 million).
According to Monday filing with the Australia Securities Exchange, Iris is making an ‘off-market cash takeover bid to acquire all of the ordinary units’ in Reef Casino Trust (RCT).
An independent board committee and the directors unanimously recommend that shareholders accept the offer.
However, the company indicates that it could seek a better offer if a ‘superior proposal’ emerges.
RCT’s two largest shareholders – Accor and Casinos Austria International – holding over 70 percent of the company’s shares, are in support of the offer.
This is largely due to the offer price being a 30 percent premium on the share price as of February 25th and a 17.7 percent premium on the closing price on July 11th.
The offer is dependent on RCT’s casino and liquor licensing approvals, including the Foundation Agreement with the state of Queensland.
The chair of the independent board committee, Wendy Morris noted that “We are pleased to have reached agreement with Iris in relation to a transaction that will deliver value to Unitholders. The Independent Board Committee believes that the Offer represents a compelling premium to the recent and historical market price of RCT units”.
Iris has indicated that it will send the bidders statement out to RTC shareholders between September 10th and 12th, with RCT to provide its recommendations to shareholders by September 29th.
Iris is a Sydney-based corporation, owned by Iris Capital. It operates two casinos in Canberra and Alice Springs, as well as over 60 hotels.
This is not the first offer from Iris to take over RCT. In February the group submitting a confidential, non-binding proposal to acquire the company.
In May, RCT also received a takeover offer from the Morris Group, without disclosing the amount the group, noting that the conversations over the takeover bid were ‘confidential and incomplete’.
