APA failed to reach the 50% of acceptances required by last Friday’s 7pm deadline. Achieving only 46% of shareholder acceptances means that the bid has failed. This is certainly the view of both the Takeovers Panel and ASIC.
If APA had managed to secure 50%, then it would have been interesting to see if they could have achieved the required 70% within the following two weeks, but this should all now be a moot point! Amazingly however, there may still be a chance that APA can resurrect the original bid.
Analysts consider it unlikely, but shareholders may still be faced with it all again if APA abandons the original bid and then simply submits a new one!
The fallout may not be so good either. With so much at stake, APA may pursue other avenues, and there is now nothing stopping another equity raider from saying “Hmmm…. Fancy a Flying Kangaroo?”
By so thoroughly endorsing the failed bid, the Qantas board is now in the hot-seat and a purge may ensue. A significant corporate falling on swords may be in fact detrimental if future ownership continues to be uncertain, particularly if a new bid appears.
The Mole is not a market analyst, however, regardless of what happens regarding share prices over the next little while, the key point here is that Qantas as a business still has significant value.
So, if you want to help deter future corporate takeovers, and secure your little piece of the national carrier, this could be a good time to buy some equity!
However, you may have to wait a short while – Qantas share trading has today been temporarily suspended at the request of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) while matters are clarified.
Report by The Mole
