Takeover bid for diagnostics company opposed

MedTech & Diagnostics News: Australian diagnostics company has been dealt a blow as a decision against conducting proceedings has been made over a takeover bid.

In March, Australian Clinical Labs (ACL) announced its intention to make an offmarket takeover bid to acquire its larger rival Healius, but the pathology provider said there were “a number of deficiencies” contained within the offer.

The merger of ACL and Healius would create Australia’s largest pathology provider, knocking Sonic Healthcare off its perch, with a combined group of more than 171 laboratories and 3413 approved collection centres nationally.

The proposed deal meant Healius shareholders would receive 0.74 ACL shares for every Healius share they owned. However, the proposed offer included 25 conditions and required unconditional ACCC approval and a 90% minimum acceptance condition.

Healius majority shareholders Perpetual Investment Management and Tanarra Capital weren’t impressed by the deal. Perpetual, which holds a 12.4% interest in Healius, said the deal was “unattractive”.

John Wylie’s Tannara Capital, which holds a 7.8% interest in Healius, was in a similar position. He backed up Healius’ stance on the offer that it was “overly restrictive” and the offer spanned an “unusually long” time. The offer lasts for six months.

Healius informed its shareholders at the time that it had written to the Takeovers Panel to address the deficiencies in the offer. But the Takeovers Panel has now laid down its verdict, declining to conduct proceedings and will publish its findings shortly.

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