CVC Bids $1.9 Billion for Dutch Firm Targeted by Activists
Dutch Trust Firm Targeted by Activist Gets $1.9 Billion CVC Bid
(Bloomberg) -- Dutch financial services firm Intertrust NV has attracted a takeover offer just days after activist Hawk Ridge Capital Management pressured it to explore strategic alternatives. The shares jumped the most on record.
Intertrust agreed to enter exclusive talks with funds advised by CVC Capital Partners, which made an indicative offer of 18 euros ($20.60) a share in cash, the Amsterdam-based company said in a statement on Friday. The bid, implying a 43% premium on the previous close, values the Dutch firm at around 1.63 billion euros, according to Bloomberg calculations.
The parties are contemplating merging Intertrust and TMF Group BV, a multinational professional services business. The discussions are for a limited period of time and there’s no assurance a transaction will materialize, Intertrust said.
The shares surged traded up 39% at 17.46 euros as of 9:54 a.m. Before Friday’s rally, Intertrust’s stock had declined 9.5% this year, compared with a 16% gain in the Amsterdam Midkap Index.
Hawk Ridge, a $2.2 billion investment firm based in Los Angeles, said in a Nov. 4 letter to Intertrust’s supervisory board that it was “disappointed time and time again” at the company’s performance “and its inability to capitalize” on growth opportunities. It holds about 4.1% of Intertrust.
“We think that there may be a more attractive future for Intertrust under new ownership and a sale of the company could be an attractive alternative for stakeholders, given the substantial undervaluation of the company’s shares,” Hawk Ridge founder David Brown wrote in the letter.
Intertrust has canceled its Capital Markets Day scheduled for Nov. 23 and suspended its current share buyback program in the wake of the offer.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.