The American fund ISQ and the British TDR have launched, through a company specifically created for this purpose, a public offer to purchase shares (takeover bid) for the Spanish leader in ITV and industrial trials Applus, a competitor to the one already presented by the North American firm. Apollo venture capital.
The new bidders, who at the end of June already announced that they were interested in the Spanish company, offer 9.75 euros per share, 2.63% more than Apollo and 28% more than the average trading price in the semester. prior to the beginning of the dance of messages and approaches aimed at the change of owners of the company.
The offer has been articulated through a company created specifically for the operation called Amber EquityCo, which brings together five different companies and a network of interests that connect London with Miami and the Cayman Islands.
The takeover bid is in cash and the bidders say they have the “debt and capital commitments necessary to meet the aforementioned consideration,” according to the description of the operation sent to the CNMV.
By launching its takeover bid for 1,226 million euros over Applus, Apollo was already ahead of another interested venture capital firm, Apax, as well as ISQ and TDR. Its premium was barely 2.5% over the listing price at that time, because the takeover drums were already sounding and the price was already reflecting the possible movements.
Based in Miami, Squared Capital has as its founder and director Sadek Wahba, an American investor of Egyptian origin from Morgan Stanley whom Joe Biden has appointed as an advisor to the North American National Infrastructure Council.
Its investments focus on sectors such as industry, energy, transportation and telecommunications, and are articulated through a fund closed in 2018 with more than 7 billion dollars. He has his sights set on North America and Europe. TDR, on the other hand, brings together very diverse investments through its funds.
Applus, with revenues of more than 2,000 million euros per year, has very distributed capital, with the American bank Morgan Stanley, with 5.3%, as the main shareholder, ahead of Southeastern Asset Management, which has 5.3%. 1%, or from DWS, which declares 3.8%. Santander, with 3%, is the largest Spanish shareholder, according to CNMV records.
The ITV company has had a proactive attitude in this process, by providing information to the interested funds. It has been listed on the stock market for almost ten years, after the Carlyle investment fund decided to sell it through an IPO. Before the summer, it already announced that it had received “non-binding and unsolicited signals of interest from certain investors” aimed at the “potential acquisition of the company.” Its CEO has been Joan Amigó since last year.
