Australia's Bingo Industries said on Tuesday it had received a A$2.29 billion ($1.8 billion) cash buyout offer from a consortium led by private equity firm CPE Capital, sending the waste management firm's shares to an 11-month high.
The offer comes at a time when the government is injecting stimulus into the recycling and construction sectors and pushing infrastructure investment as the economy reopens from coronavirus-enforced lockdowns.
Under the proposal, Bingo shareholders would get A$3.50 per share, a nearly 28% premium to the stock's last close, the company said in a statement.
A deal would hand nearly A$460 million to Chief Executive Officer and top shareholder Daniel Tartak, whose parents started Bingo in the outer suburbs of Sydney in 2005 by acquiring a small skip bin company for less than A$1 million.
Bingo said the proposal included an alternative structure which would give shareholders an option to receive a mix of cash and unlisted scrip at a lower upfront price than the cash offer.
"The proposal is being considered by an independent board committee of Bingo and discussions and due diligence with the consortium have been ongoing," the company said.
Bingo shares jumped as much as 23.7% to A$3.39, their highest since Feb. 20, 2020, but still traded below the offer price.
"(The offer) is just a shot across the bow and a chance to engage with the family," said Henry Jennings, senior analyst at Marcustoday Financial Newsletter.
"The takeover will need to be closer to A$4 to get it over the line."
CPE Capital's investment portfolio ranges from food to the automobile sector, and includes Banksmeadow Recycling site, which it bought from Bingo in 2019.
CPE Capital declined to comment.
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Byron Kaye in Sydney; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Stephen Coates)
