SYDNEY: Australia’s Bapcor Ltd confirmed yesterday that it had received a proposal from private equity firm Bain Capital to buy the automotive parts retailer in a deal that valued its equity at A$1.83bil (US$1.2bil).
Bapcor shareholders will receive A$5.4 in cash per share under the terms of the non-binding indicative proposal, representing a premium of 23.9% to the stock’s last close of A$4.36 on June 7.
The offer comes at a time when the Australia-headquartered firm is struggling to improve its performance amid challenging trading conditions and senior management exodus.
Its shares have declined 21% so far this year and have recently been trading at lows last seen in April 2020.
Bapcor in May flagged challenging trading conditions for retail performance and concerns around competitive pricing resulting in volume and margin pressures amid higher costs.
The company then warned that profits in the second half of 2024 would be lower than the first half.
In late April, Bapcor said Paul Dumbrell would not join the company as its chief executive.
“The board cautions that at this time there is no guarantee that the indicative proposal put forward by Bain Capital will result in a binding offer or that any transaction will eventuate,” Bapcor said in an exchange filing.
The announcement came after the Australian Financial Review reported earlier this week about the proposal from Bain Capital for Bapcor.
Bapcor said the offer was received after market close last Friday. — Reuters
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