The Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX) share price is suffering today after hopes of a takeover bid were dashed.
After weeks of back and forth negotiations, IFM Global Infrastructure Fund has backed out of acquisition discussions with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) toll road operator.
At the time of writing, the Atlas Arteria share price is $7.60, 6.7% lower than its previous close.
Let's take a closer look at the news driving the infrastructure giant into the red.
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Infrastructure fund backs out of ASX 200 takeover talks
The Atlas Arteria share price is defying the ASX 200's gains on Thursday to plunge lower after $76 billion infrastructure fund IFM scrapped plans for a takeover bid.
The fund nabbed a 15% hold in the ASX 200 company's shares last month.
On announcing its new major shareholder status, it revealed it was also considering posting a takeover bid for the company.
The takeover interest – and the $8.10 per share IFM paid for Atlas Arteria's stock – took the market by storm. The Atlas Arteria share price launched 16% on the back of the news.
But any remaining excitement has been quashed today after IFM announced it's "not presently in a position to meaningfully progress a proposal". Though, it has left the door open for future takeover talks.
IFM Global Infrastructure Fund is run by IFM Investors, which is owned by Australian industry super funds. The fund headed the consortium that acquired Sydney Airport earlier this year.
Today's news follows two meetings in which IFM and Atlas Arteria shared non-confidential information to help the fund progress an offer.
The Atlas Arteria share price's Thursday tumble leaves it 10% higher than it was at the start of the year. It's outperformed the ASX 200 by around 20% in that time.
It is also up by 24% over the past 12 months.
