Pendula has come good on its promise to bid for mass mobile messaging technology company Whispir, which on Thursday said it rejected the offer on the table from rivals Soprano Design Technology.
Pendula’s offer is a 19 per cent premium to the Soprano offer at 48c per share, which makes it 9c higher to 57c.
It proposes a scheme of arrangement where shareholders can receive all cash or a fixed ratio of 50 per cent cash and 50 per cent shares in Pendula.
The other option is an asset sale transaction if the scheme of arrangement is not implemented, subject to shareholder approval.
Whispir’s board on Thursday said it rejected the Soprano offer at 48c per share, or $63m, below the value ascribed to the company by an independent expert, which valued it at between 48.6c and 56.5c per share.
Earlier, Whispir investors were suspicious of the promise to put forward an offer by Pendula, the trading name of the company Zipline Cloud, with it earlier lodging a “letter of intent” to trump the Soprano offer.
Whispir shares on Thursday were trading at 54c.
Pendula is a strategic party and has undertaken preliminary due diligence on the Whispir business, the company earlier said.
Whispir shareholders have been frustrated with the operation of the business and its capital raising, so are eager to see a deal occur.
Soprano has already amassed a 15 per cent stake in Whispir, with Spheria Asset Management selling its 7.6 per cent interest in the AustralianSuper-backed company.
Soprano is keen to buy Whispir’s software.
Jarden is working for Soprano, while RBC is advising Whispir.
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