Charter Hall succeeds in its chase, while Bain likely to return

Hostile takeover bids have been few and far between in recent times.

The last two takeover battles shaping up for the year both involve boards playing hard ball and refusing to accept the bids by suitors.

But with Charter Hall Retail REIT’s hostile approach now gaining traction, some question whether this will embolden others to take this more assertive route on buyouts in the new year.

Hostile takeover bids have been few and far between in recent times, with suitors, particularly private equity firms, preferring to take the less confrontational approach.

But in the case of Charter Hall’s attempt to gain control of Australian Venue Co pub landlord Hotel Property Investments, it appears to have worked. As of Wednesday, the company told the market that it had won majority control with a 52 per cent holding.

Even if HPI’s board does not recommend the offer, Charter Hall now has the ability to appoint its own directors and assert itself. The takeover bid from Charter Hall’s satellite, Charter Hall Retail REIT, values the target at $755m and the company had rejected its offer.

Meanwhile, wealth manager Insignia Financial may have rejected the $4 per share offer from Bain Capital, but most do not believe this will be the last of it. The king maker is John Wylie’s Tanarra Capital with 14 per cent.

Most expect Bain will sweeten the $2.7bn deal by about 20c or 30c per share, and then the challenge will be getting the private equity fund to firm up the offer after it conducts due diligence, should Insignia be receptive to the bid and open the books.

And then there is the left field chance of a rival bidder turning up to trump the Bain proposal.

Insignia said it did not believe the proposed transaction adequately represented fair value for Insignia investors in the context of a change of control transaction.