Fund managers employed by the state-owned Accident Compensation Corp are set for a payday after WSP Global Inc, a Canadian listed consultancy firm, offered an 87 per cent premium for Opus International Consultants.
ACC portfolio managers Paul Robertshawe, Blair Cooper and Blair Tallott are listed in WSP's takeover documents because they own shares in Opus in their own right, in addition to ACC's 5.78 per cent holding. ACC's code of conduct allows its investment staff to make personal investments provided head of investments Nicholas Bagnell is satisfied there is no conflict with ACC's own activities.
WSP is offering $1.78 a share for Opus, which closed at 99 cents on the NZX on Friday. ACC currently owns 8.55 million shares while the portfolio managers have holdings ranging from 145,923 to 347,825 shares, meaning the takeover would generate proceeds of $15.2 million for the corporation and between $51,495 and $124,600 for its managers.
The offer also allows Opus to declare a fully imputed dividend of 7 cents a share, taking the total on offer to shareholders to $1.85 per share.
Opus shares soared 72 per cent to $1.70 on the NZX today. Malaysian Stock Exchange-listed UEM Edgenta Bhd, which owns 61.2 per cent of the company, has entered a lock-up agreement to sell into the offer, subject to shareholder approval. UEM's 69 percent owner, UEM Group Bhd, has already given an irrevocable undertaking to vote in favour of the offer, WSP said in a statement.