An independent expert has concluded that United States real estate information provider CoStar’s A$3.0 billion (US$1.97 billion) takeover bid for digital real estate company Domain Holdings is fair and reasonable.
Domain said Grant Samuel & Associates believed the offer of $4.43 per share, less any special dividend declared or paid, was in the best interests of Domain shareholders in the absence of a superior proposal.
Grant Samuel has assessed the full underlying value of each Domain share at between $4.06 and $4.46 on a fully diluted basis, which means the offer is at the top end of the range.
“The Domain Board considers the Scheme to be in the best interests of Domain Shareholders, having regard to the significant premium to pre-announcement trading, the certainty of value delivered by the Scheme Consideration and the support of Domain’s major shareholder, Nine," Domain Chairman Nick Falloon said in an ASX announcement.
Domain said it continued to unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the takeover, which is to be implemented via a scheme of arrangement and will be considered at a meeting on 4 August.
Nine Entertainment (ASX: NEC) has indicated it will vote its 60.05% stake in favour of the deal.
The offer was at a premium of 42.0% to the ‘undisturbed’ share price of $3.12 per share before CoStar made its initial offer on 21 February, 50.2% to the one-month volume weighted average price (VWAP) and 59.7% to the three-month VWAP, up to 20 February.
Domain (ASX: DHG) shares closed one cent higher at $4.38 on Monday, valuing the company at $2.77 billion.
Established by newspaper publisher Fairfax Media in 1999, Domain listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in 2017 with Nine Entertainment retaining a 60% ownership stake in Domain after Nine’s merger with Fairfax in 2018.
