Australia’s Nearmap Ltd disclosed on Monday a $754.6 million non-binding takeover proposal from Thoma Bravo and said it had granted due diligence to the private equity firm, sending shares of the aerial imagery company higher by more than 30%.
The A$2.10-per-share cash proposal received last month represented a premium of nearly 39% to the stock’s Friday close.
“The board of Nearmap determined the proposal received on July 6 to be credible and sufficient to initially grant non-exclusive due diligence access to Thoma Bravo,” the company said in a statement.
Thoma Bravo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nearmap shares have lost more than 60% of their value since hitting a peak in 2019, making the firm an attractive target for U.S.-based private equity firms which have shown increasing interest in discounted purchases Down Under in recent years.
Shares of the company surged as much as 34.4% to A$2.03 on Monday and were set for their best day since October 2016 if gains hold, while the broader market rose 0.5%.
Nearmap, whose offerings are used in surveillance, architecture, engineering and construction, said it had received several other expressions of interest, but none of them was considered to be in the best interest of shareholders.
Thoma Bravo has been given seven days for exclusive due diligence and the process is at an advanced stage, Nearmap said.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Garry Sherriff said in a note that the exclusivity provided the bidder an opportunity for due diligence and put pressure to provide a potential binding offer while alerting other potential bidders.
“If no binding offer is proposed within the 7-day exclusivity, then the board, in our view, is likely to run a full sales process to flush out other potential offers and maximise a sale price,” Sherriff said.
Reuters