Shares in credit information provider Veda Group have soared on news of a $2.28 billion takeover proposal from Equifax Inc.
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Credit reporting business Veda has confirmed a Street Talk report that it has received a takeover offer.
For another, Veda’s board has yet to assess the offer, and there is no guarantee that it will recommend a bid at that price – hence why Veda’s shares at one point traded above the current offer price on hopes management would push for a better deal.
Veda’s board said it will evaluate the proposal and will update shareholders and the market in due course.
Veda’s shares, which had fallen about 13% in 2015 ahead of the approach, rallied nearly 30% in intraday trading Friday.
Macquarie Group Ltd. and Herbert Smith Freehills are advising Veda, the Sydney-based company said.
The firm was previously run under the moniker of Baycorp Advantage, after a merger of Australian company Data Advantage and New Zealand Company Baycorp in 2001.
The Atlanta-based company in a statement said the proposal to buy Veda was financially compelling, and consistent with its strategic focus to expand into attractive new markets.
Equifax operates in the USA and 18 other nations, a lot of them in the Americas and Europe.
The offer follows a sell down from Pacific Equity Partners to exit Veda.
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Veda reported an annual net profit of $77.9 million in the 2015 financial year, up 248 per cent on the net profit of $22.4 million a year earlier.
