Volaris sweetens an earlier bid for Adapt IT in the face of a higher offer from Huge Group

VOLARIS on Friday increased its cash offer for Adapt IT to R7 from R6.50 per share as the Canada-based group upped the ante in a takeover battle that has already seen Huge Group significantly up its earlier share-swop offer for Adapt IT.

The increased offer represents a 68 percent premium to the price of Adapt IT shares of R4.16 on April 1, 2021, which was the last trading date prior to the date on which Volaris and Adapt IT had entered into the “Volaris Offer Agreement”. Adapt IT’s shares traded 2.3 percent lower at R6.84 on Friday.

“As a result of the increased offer, the Independent Board engaged the Independent Expert, Nodus Capital, to provide an opinion on the increase in view of their fair value range of an Adapt IT share.

“Nodus Capital confirmed the increased offer from Volaris is fair and reasonable to Adapt IT shareholders, and the Independent Board agrees,” a statement said Friday.

A scheme delisting resolution and a standby offer delisting resolution would be proposed to Adapt IT shareholders at a general meeting on June 30.

“The Volaris offer presents an opportunity for Adapt IT shareholders to realise their investment for a cash price of R7,” a statement said.

Shareholders who did not wish to sell their Adapt IT shares at R7 per

Adapt IT share for cash, could make the “Continuation Election” option.

Adapt IT said in response to Huge’s revised offer made on May 28, and which had involved increasing a share swop ratio from 0.9 to 1.37 Huge shares for each Adapt IT share, that its independent expert, Nodus Capital and independent board both viewed the Huge offer as fair and reasonable.

“The independent expert references a fair-value range of an Adapt IT share to be between 1.05 and 1.61 Huge shares for one Adapt IT share,” a statement said.

However, Adapt IT said shareholders who were thinking of exchanging their shares for Huge shares should be aware that Huge shares were subject to “a degree of illiquidity, in that they have limited trading volumes.”

The closing date of the revised Huge offer had been extended to July 30 from July 23.