SYDNEY--Uniti Group Ltd. received an indicative takeover proposal from a consortium comprising Macquarie Group Ltd.'s asset manager and Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board, apparently trumping an earlier rival proposal.The Australian telecommunications services provider on Thursday said it had received a proposal from the consortium worth A$5.00 per share, which values its equity at 3.40 billion Australian dollars (US$2.55 billion). The proposal is nonbinding and conditional.Uniti last week received a A$4.50-per-share proposal from New Zealand-based asset manager HRL Morrison & Co.Media reports of a second suitor sent the stock 11% higher to a record A$4.67 on Wednesday before trade was suspended pending an announcement by the company.The proposal by Macquarie Asset Management's Macquarie Infrastructure and PSP Investments offers a 59% premium to the stock's A$3.15 price prior to the announcement of HRL Morrison's approach.Shares in Uniti--which offers services such as communications and analytics to customers including large enterprises and government--had been falling in 2022 broadly in line with a decline in local tech stocks. They were down 30% since Dec. 31 prior to the proposal. Write to Stuart Condie at [email protected]
UWL Price at posting:
$4.67 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
