Vocus has been offered another chance to be acquired, this time with a price tag of $3.26 billion.
The newest offer comes from EQT Infrastructure, a global infrastructure investment firm, which has offered to buy all of Vocus's shares for $5.25 each in cash.
The offer is still a non-binding, indicative proposal, so there's no guarantee that a formal offer will be put forward yet. The acquisition would still be subject to a number of conditions like completing due diligence, securing financing and a unanimous recommendation from the Vocus board of directors.
Nevertheless, Vocus's board has granted EQT non-exclusive due diligence access to allow it to put forward a binding proposal, which is likely to take a number of weeks.
Vocus last entertained acquisition offers in 2017, when two private equity firms, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Affinity Equity Partners, both failed to reach "acceptable terms" for a buyout. Both firms offered $2.2 billion to buy the telco, but Vocus ultimately turned both offers down after forecasting a financial turnaround and return to sustainable organic growth the following year.
Vocus did manage to turn around its financial prospects somewhat, reporting steady revenue of $1.9 billion in FY18 and statutory EBITDA of $360.4 million.
The $3.26 billion offer however is a substantial increase on the previous offers two years ago. The last time Vocus's share price approached the $5 mark was in late 2016 as its share price was declining. The $5.25 offer is also substantially higher than Vocus's current share price, which sits at $3.89 at the time of writing.
The company said shareholders do not need to take any action until further notice.
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