PEP to stick with $730m offer for Spotless

The Australian private equity firm claimed it is unable to up its offer without access to Spotless's management information. PEP has not yet been allowed to conduct due diligence into the company.

On Monday Spotless said it would allow the due diligence to take place if PEP increased its offer to at least A$2.80 per share, or A$743 million ($760 million). But the private equity firm claims it has the support the shareholders who own an aggregate 26% of the company, and that its offer of A$2.68 per share implies a multiple of 16.5x the projected EBITDA for 2012.

PEP already upped its bid for the firm once before. In early December, it offered A$711 million, up from A$700 million, in an attempt to coax the company that has twice rejected its private equity suitors.

Its original offer, of A$2.63 per share, was rejected by Spotless in November on the grounds that it did not fully represent the company's value, despite representing a 12% premium on the company's trading price at the time. In May, Spotless also discarded Blackstone's takeover offer of A$657 million, or A$2.50 a share, which was similarly branded as being too low.

A provider of cleaning, security and catering services, Spotless' shareholders include Investors Mutual, Lazard Asset Management and Orbis Investment Management, which hold a 19.64% stake in the company.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Support services
• PIPEs
• PIPE
• buyout
• Australia
• Pacific Equity Partners