The AXA Asia Pacific Board is considering a sweetened offer from AMP and AXA SA, in which the offer price has been increased to the equivalent of $6.22 per AXA AP share.
The AXA AP Board, under its Chairman, Rick Allert, rejected the original proposal last month (at the equivalent of $5.34 per share) because the directors believed the proposal was inadequate and not in the best interests of AXA APH’s minority shareholders.
According to AMP Chairman, Peter Mason, the revised offer, which was made to AXA AP at the end of last week, ”… addresses the significant matters raised by the independent directors in their rejection of the original proposal…”. Mr Mason now urges the AXA AP Board ”… to recommend this substantially improved offer to minority shareholders.”
Under the revised cash and AMP shares offer:
- AMP would acquire the Australian and New Zealand assets of AXA AP for $4.4 billion (based on AMP’s volume weighed average share price)
- AXA SA would acquire AXA AP’s Asian business for A$9.6 billion
- AXA AP minority shareholders would have a 24 per cent ownership in AMP
This acquisition would … create the fifth pillar in a new financial services landscape
Commenting on his firm’s latest offer, AMP CEO, Craig Dunn, said “This acquisition would give the merged entity significant scale and efficiency in core markets, broaden its advice footprint and distribution, and create the fifth pillar in a new financial services landscape.”
The market now awaits AXA AP’s response to the new proposal, which AMP has stated will lapse next Monday, 21 December, if AXA AP has not accepted it, recommended it to minority shareholders and executed legal documents by that date.
