Very interesting article from the Australian. Details that...

Very interesting article from the Australian. Details that Ardent is not a take over target, at this stage, though some still believe Ariadne is building towards 10%. Interesting days for Ardent. Not a time to be caught short. Seems a highly creditable article.


Ardent Leisure Group

Ardent Leisure Group

• The Australian
• 12:00AM April 7, 2017
• 

Ariadne’s trading in theme park owner Ardent Leisure is thought to have set off a frenzy among investment banks eager to capitalise on the action after it emerged yesterday that Citi’s agreement to defend the takeover target recently lapsed.

Investment bank Citi was close to former Ardent Leisure boss Greg Shaw, and its former banker Andrew Pears, who recently left the industry, was close to the company.

But while Citi defended Ardent last year, it is now understood that the latter had not engaged with the investment bank to become its adviser, despite suggestions last week that the bank was in its corner.

Market analysts believe that banks such as Goldman Sachs and Gresham could be pitching to the Ardent board for a role. However, the understanding is that the directors have opted not to call on the help of investment banks as Ariadne targets the owner of Dreamworld and SkyPoint Climb (pictured).

Ardent shares closed at $1.92 yesterday.

The company has rallied on hopes that Ariadne, whose board includes corporate raider Dr Gary Weiss, billionaire property developer Kevin Seymour and Sydney law firm founder David Baffsky, will launch a takeover bid for the group, which also owns bowling and entertainment centres in the US.

As revealed by The Australian online yesterday, Ariadne is believed to be amassing more shares in the business to grow its stake beyond 6 per cent.

Some are betting that the company, which owns car parks and other investments, will emerge with a stake of at least 10 per cent in Ardent.

Ardent Leisure yesterday said little about the raid on its register, commenting that it would take appropriate action on behalf of its shareholders.

Some believe that it has not yet reached out to its newest major shareholder, which is likely to be angling for a board seat on Ardent.

It is understood that Ariadne’s motivation for buying shares in Ardent is to work alongside the company to extract the best value, but it is not eager to buy the business outright any time soon.

There is a belief in the market that Ardent’s management and board were not extracting the best value out of the operation, with some critical of its expansion strategy for its entertainment centres in the US.

Analysts say that the business faces a dilemma because it needs to expand in the US to grow earnings, but the US-based arcades business that it wants to roll out further to secure more upside is becoming less, rather than more, profitable.

Ariadne has been working with Investec, and it is thought that the source of Ardent’s appeal is its ability to capitalise on the growing tourism market on the Gold Coast.

Ariadne invests in car park infrastructure, property and marinas and is also involved in investment management and financial services.

It has interests in NatureSeal, wealth manager Clearview and Hillgrove Resources

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This post is based on my own research and is not investment advice. When making investment decisions, always DYOR.