A subsidiary of SB&G Group has made an all-cash $21.4 million offer for Inabox, ahead of a 19 November Inabox shareholder meeting due to vote on a takeover bid by MyNetFone.
In October, Inabox’s unanimously recommended its shareholders accept an MyNetFone offer that will see MNF Group acquire the company’s operating subsidiaries.
“The transaction follows a strategic review by the Inabox board and senior management and over six months of confidential discussions with several interested parties,” Inabox CEO Damian Kay said at the time.
“The transaction, if completed, offers our shareholders a cash return which represents a significant premium over the recent average market price of our shares.”
If approved, the all-cash deal will see MNF Group fork out between $30.5 million and $33.5 million for Telcoinabox, iVox, Neural Networks, Mobile Service Solutions and Symmetry Networks.
Inabox today entered a trading halt ahead of revealing details of the offer from SB&G Group, which comprises funds advised by Salter Brothers Asset Management Pty Limited. Subsidiary SB&G Telecoms has already acquired 19.9 per cent of Inabox shares.
The consortium is offering $0.90 per IAB share. In October Inabox said that the total cash distribution to shareholders from the MNF Group deal was likely to be in excess of $0.80 per share, assuming the full earn-out is received.
SB&G’s offer is contingent on Inabox not selling off its operating subsidiaries to MNF Group. In a statement it said that that in contrast to the “complex” MyNetFone offer, it had put forward a “simple all cash offer to directly acquire all shares from existing IAB shareholders”.
“The current MNF Group Offer is a complex one that is subject to a number of conditions including IAB shareholder approval, no ‘material adverse effect’ in IAB's business before completion, the availability of MNF Group debt funding, and the receipt of third-party approvals under a number of key contracts including to novate commercial contracts and obtain consents under contractual change of control provisions,” an SB&G statement said.
In a statement today, Inabox said its board is currently considering the new offer “so that it will be in a position to advise shareholders as soon as possible whether or not it recommends proceeding with the offer as a superior offer to the MNF Group transaction”.
In August, 5G Networks paid $5.7 million to acquire Hostworks and Anittel from Inabox.