The board of takeover target Pacific Smiles has made a last-minute decision to postpone a shareholder vote on a $305 million buyout offer from private equity group Crescent Capital even though a rival offer is 1¢ per share lower.

The Pacific Smiles board said a revised proposal of $1.90 per share from a rival private group, Genesis Capital, received on Sunday, has been deemed a “superior proposal” under the terms of a complex scheme implementation deed. It has now put the onus back on Crescent Capital and its bidding vehicle, NDC Holdco, to come back with a counter-offer.