KEY POINTS:
Time is running out for Australian private equity group Crescent Capital Partners to get backing in its bid for Abano Healthcare - but the firm still believes it can convince investors of the merits behind its $5.20 offer.
Crescent put forward its bid in early December and had
been campaigning hard for a 90 per cent stake in Abano until a few weeks ago, when the Stewart family's Masthead Portfolios decided to sell its 19.9 per cent stake to Healthcare Industries - a group of Bay of Plenty audiologists which also has a 30 per cent stake in Abano division Bay Audiology.
The purchase effectively blocked Crescent from gaining the 90 per cent stake needed to allow it to compulsorily acquire the entire business - a move it had said was the only way the buy-out would be financially viable.
For weeks it had been silent, and the Business Herald was told the company was discussing its options.
But last week, with just 2 1/2 weeks to go until the offer period cut-off on March 14, Crescent announced a decision to drop the acceptance level down to 50.1 per cent.
Crescent CEO Michael Alscher admits it is a big change of tack for the company.
"We had a change of heart and a change of strategy," he says. "Not having full control was something we decided we could live with."
So far the firm has managed to gain less than 2 per cent in acceptances on top of the 19.9 per cent stake it owns, but Alscher believes there is still enough time to get to 50.1 per cent.
"Most of this process happens in the last few weeks. People hedge their bets waiting to see if an alternative offer will come off.
"We are in discussions with a lot of the investor groups and hope to start to see some movement this week. It's really going to come down to the last week."
He believes the $5.20-per-share offer is as good as it will get for Abano shareholders, particularly following a 16 per cent drop in the sharemarket since the start of the year, and says two of the three institutional shareholders have already recognised this and partially cashed-up their positions.
But Abano remains firm in its advice to investors that the offer is too low. "The board continues to recommend shareholders do not accept the offer," Abano board chairwoman Alison Paterson told the Herald last week after Crescent's announcement.
Abano said it would put out a further statement on its position by the end of February. But by close of play on Friday it had not materialised.
Healthcare Industries spokesman Peter Hutson said: "I think the views of the board have been expressed and shareholders appear to have followed them. We believe in the future performance of the company. We wouldn't be in a hurry to divest our shareholding.
"We are examining a number of options and would prefer to communicate those directly to the shareholders at a time when we are ready. We are considering a number of ideas which includes doing nothing. But obviously we are thinking hard about the company."
On Friday Abano's share price closed up 3c at $4.83.