July 15 (Reuters) – Australia’s Perpetual said on Wednesday it had received a sweetened non-binding takeover proposal from Swedish private equity firm EQT AB, valuing the financial services provider at A$2.50 billion ($1.75 billion).
Under the revised offer, EQT would buy all of Perpetual’s shares for A$22.07 per share, a near-22% premium to the firm’s close on July 1, before the company disclosed EQT’s initial approach to the market.
The latest bid exceeds EQT’s earlier A$2.45 billion proposal, which Perpetual rejected after determining it did not adequately reflect the company’s value.
The board said it was assessing the revised offer but cautioned there was no certainty it would result in a binding transaction.
The renewed takeover approach marks the latest attempt to acquire the 140-year-old financial services group, which has fended off several suitors in recent years.
In 2022, it rejected a A$1.7 billion takeover bid from a consortium including portfolio manager Regal Partners, and the next year it turned down a A$3.1 billion offer from its largest shareholder, Washington H Soul Pattinson.
($1 = 1.4310 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
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