Toll road operator Atlas Arteria has received an A$6.9 billion unsolicited takeover bid from shareholder IFM Investors, with Atlas Arteria’s share price surging by 13.4%.
IFM owns a 34% stake in Atlas Arteria, and first invested in the company in 2022. IFM offered to buy the rest of the company’s shares for $4.75 per security, or $5.10 if it holds at least 45% of Atlas Arteria’s shares by the time the offer closes.
“There was no communication from IFM to Atlas Arteria prior to receipt of the Bidder’s Statement,” Atlas Arteria wrote in an ASX announcement. “The offer price of A$4.75 cash per security represents a premium of only 10% based on the last closing security price.”
The board will establish an independent committee to consider the bid, said Atlas Arteria, and the company has named UBS and Flagstaff as financial advisers. “The Company advises that shareholders take no action in relation to the Offer.”
IFM has made “certain ‘best and final’ statements” about the bid, Atlas Arteria also said.
Traffic has fallen on some of Atlas Arteria’s toll roads as the Iran war has pushed up fuel prices, including in France’s Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhone group (APRR). Atlas Arteria owns a 30% stake in the APRR group, and it represented most of the company’s toll revenue last quarter.
The APRR group’s average daily traffic dropped 0.9% year-over-year last quarter, with the company saying it had been lagging even before the war broke out in late February.
Atlas Arteria’s (ASX: ALX) shares have slid since the Iran war began. Shares were trading 13.4% higher at $4.91 by 3:35 pm AEST, their highest point in around two months.
The company also owns toll roads in the United States and Germany. Its market capitalisation is $7.12 billion.
