Sterling-CPP boosts Livingston takeover offer
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 - 2:26 pm
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP) and Sterling Partners announced today that they have agreed to amend their acquisition agreement dated October 7, 2009 by increasing the bid from $8.00 to $9.50 in cash per unit. The amended offer values Livingston, Canada’s largest customs broker, at roughly $324 million.
The higher price is offered even though Mullen’s $8.50 per unit offer has expired. Prompting the sweetened offer were:
- slightly less than 60% of units have been tendered to the original CPP-Sterling offer, while the transaction must be approved by two-thirds of Livingston’s unitholders
- the debt markets have improved, enabling the buyers “to put a more appropriate capital structure in place and amend our valuation of the company.”
- improving economic conditions and unexpected gains in the Canada-U.S. trade surplus “have altered the fundamentals of this transaction.”
Now we know what was holding up completion of the deal, which is expected to be finalized in early 2010. (Source: Livingston press release)
