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SYDNEY - Perpetual Ltd has confirmed it intends to vote against a proposed takeover of media group APN News and Media by a group led by Irish media baron Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media (INM).
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, Perpetual company secretary Joanne Hawkins said the company intended to vote against the bid for APN.
But the company later amended its statement to insert the word "material".
"Perpetual advises that, provided there is no material change in circumstances, its current intention is to vote against the proposed scheme of arrangement for APN," the short statement said.
Last month, a group led by O'Reilly's Independent News & Media (INM) sweetened its takeover bid for APN, owner of The New Zealand Herald, for the fourth and, it said then, the last time.
INM, which also is APN's biggest shareholder, on April 17 increased the offer to $A6.20 ($NZ7.06) per APN share, from $A6.10, in concert with US-based private equity firms Providence Equity Partners and The Carlyle Group.
The new bid, which the consortium has declared as final, values the Trans-Tasman newspaper and radio station owner at $A2.97 billion.
It followed an earlier bid in February that valued APN at $A2.92 billion, or $A3.8 billion including debt.
In issuing the statement, Perpetual Trustees, which says it has voting power over 11.7 percent of shares in APN, was reacting to media speculation that it would oppose the bid, threatening its success.
APN News & Media Ltd had earlier requested the corporations watchdog, the ASIC, to ask Perpetual to clarify its stance in regard to the proposed takeover. APN said they had heard nothing from Perpetual.
Maple-Brown Abbott, which has 7.5 percent of the stock, also is reported to be against the deal.
APN shareholders are due to meet in Sydney on Friday to vote on the plan.
Shares in APN fell today on the news that Perpetual would oppose the INM bid, with the company falling back 22 cents or 3.68 percent to $A5.76 by 1042 AEST.
- AAP
