Private equity firm CVC Asia Pacific Ltd. Thursday said it remains “enthusiastic” about making a takeover bid for fastfood operator Restaurant Brands New Zealand Ltd despite the lapse of its initial takeover notice, the Dow Jones news agency reported.
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Matthew Mahon, speaking on behalf of CVC Asia Pacific, said the private equity firm is still working through the conditions it wants met before it formalizes a takeover bid.
“There’s been no cool off, or anything like that, they remain as enthusiastic about the offer as they were when it was first announced,” Mahon told Dow Jones Newswires.
Mahon was speaking after brokers said the market was becoming concerned that CVC Asia Pacific’s plan to bid for Restaurant Brands might be faltering.
CVC Asia Pacific last month filed a notice of intention to make a NZ$1.65 (US$1.11) a share takeover offer for New Zealand-based Restaurant Brands, and the target company’s share price subsequently rose sharply to the bid price from NZ$1.28.
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By GlobalDataJust days after, Restaurant Brands added that two other parties had also expressed interest in making a bid, and investors subsequently pushed the company’s share price slightly above NZ$1.65.
Under New Zealand corporate law, CVC Asia Pacific had 30 days to formalize its bid after it filed the notice, but Restaurant Brands said late Wednesday that the deadline wouldn’t be met.
It also added that talks with other parties hadn’t progressed as far as due diligence.
CVC Asia Pacific wants a number of conditions met before it will formalize its bid, and Mahon said the private equity firm is still working through “a couple” of them.
CVC Asia Pacific has previously said it wants to reach agreement with Restaurant Brands’ franchisors before making a bid, and it also wants to be satisfied that there are ongoing arrangements with “key senior staff”.
Restaurant Brands operates KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks coffee shops throughout New Zealand and in Victoria, Australia.
