Spotless Requests Higher Takeover Offer

Industrial services company Spotless Group (SPT) is suggesting for a higher takeover price as it requests its bidder Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) to raise its offer to $2.80 a share from its previous $2.68 offer last December. This will increase the company's value from $711 million to $743 million.

"In the current circumstances, this is the lowest price at which the Spotless board would be willing to unanimously recommend a scheme of arrangement," according to the company's statement. The $2.80 price is 39 per cent premium to the price of Spotless shares before PEP's interest came out in public and 4.5 per cent more than the previous offer. It includes a dividend to be paid to its current shareholders.

The price includes "significant investment that Spotless has made for the medium and long-term benefit of the business, and ensuring that all shareholders are adequately compensated for this investment", the company said.

The request, however, may or may not be welcomed by PEP, according to Spotless.

Spotless shares rose by 10 cents or 4.3 per cent to $2.43 in the early trade.