Cardtronics wooed by even higher buyout offer
Cardtronics, a global operator of ATMs, has received an unsolicited offer to be purchased for $39 per share, topping a previous deal to be acquired for $35 per share, the company announced. The name of the company behind the solicitationwas not disclosed.
The offer, disclosed in a Jan. 7 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, came two weeks after Cardtronics said it would accept a sweetened $35-ashare all-cash offer to be acquired by Apollo Global Management and Hudson Executive Capital. Apollo and Hudson’s Catalyst Holdings Ltd. initially offered $31 a share.
Shares of Cardtronics jumped 15 percent to close at $41.08 Friday after the news.
At the time of the revised offer from Apollo and Hudson, analysts suggested Houston-based Cardtronics could attract bids from $37 to $42 per share. At the time, CEO Ed West said after reviewing all his options, taking the Catalyst deal was best for shareholders.
In the filing with the SEC, Cardtronics said the new offer included “a mark-up of the Dec. 15 acquisition agreement with Catalyst Holdings with limited changes and a letter from a ‘reputable financial institution indicating that it is highly confident of its ability
to arrange and syndicate the debt financing contemplated in connection with the proposed transaction…’”
The board said in its filing that while it entered into a non-disclosure agreement with the third party “to facilitate discussions and negotiations with the third party and the provision of material non-public information to the third party in connection with their proposal,” it was standing behind the Catalyst deal.
“The board of directors of Cardtronics reaffirms its support of and recommendation in favor of the acquisition contemplated by the acquisition agreement with Catalyst Holdings Ltd., as indicated in the preliminary proxy statement,” it said.
That said, Sam Ditzion, CEO of Tremont Capital Group, a Boston-based mergers and acquisitions firm specializing in the ATM industry, said Cardtronics’ board had an obligation to consider the offer if it were determined the the new bid was potentially superior. “In the meantime, the initial offer is moving forward.”
While the outcome remains unknown, there would be a $32.6 million breakup fee if the original deal falls through.
“We’re in the midst of an active bidding war where anything can happen, including the price or the buyer changing,” Ditzion said.
Cardtronics is connected to more than 285,000 ATMs across 10 countries in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and Africa.