In the end, the Gavio Group and Ardian, united in Naf2, succumbed to market pressures and have the price of the takeover bid has been raised from 25.6 to 28 euros launched on February 19th. A last-minute operation, given that the deadline for joining the original offer that started on 13 April was set for Monday 10 May.
A change that bidders define as “final and definitive”, thus excluding a possible further upside. As a result of the relaunch, the deadline is extended to next May 24, but Naf2, which currently owns 53.08% of Astm and has so far received subscriptions equal to 31.51% of the offer, has received the commitment of some intermediaries to bring in over 9.53% of the share capital.
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With the relaunch, Gavio and Ardian underline, the shareholder premium is equal to approximately 40.8% compared to the official price of 19.88 euros of the Astm share as of February 19, the day of the announcement of the offer. Premium which rises to 49.1% compared to the average of the previous six months and to 55.1% over 12 months.
The commitment to adhere to the new tender offer conditions came through intermediaries by Lazard for about 5.4%, Lexcor Master Fund (Marble Bar Asset Management) for about 0.5%, Varenne Capital Partners for a holding around 1.4%, Sycomore for almost 1.03%, Glg Partners for 0.2% and Melqart Opportunities Master Fund for around 1%.
The objective of the operation is to withdraw the stock from the Piazza Affari list. The share price had risen from the low of 17.91 euros reached on 27 January to 19.88 euros on 19 February. Then the surge to 25.68 euros on February 22, the first trading session after the announcement, a value that even then had made some operators predict a possible rise. From that day on, the stock’s performance has been rather flat, always confirming itself above the price offered by Gavio and Ardian, but never exceeding the threshold of 25.82 euros, closing yesterday at 25.7 euros.