If you have an interest in the Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB) share price, then it's certainly your lucky day today. The broader ASX share market is having a pretty awful start to the trading week this Monday. At present, the ASX 200 is down 0.73% and touched a new 52-week low this morning.
But it's a very different story when it comes to Aussie Broadband shares.
The Aussie Broadband share price did have a shaky start this morning, dipping into red territory. But all has been forgiven by investors, with the ASX 200 telco currently up a healthy 0.26% at $3.89 a share.
This bucking of the broader market could have something to do with the major announcement Aussie Broadband released this morning.
In an ASX release, the telco confirmed that it has submitted a binding takeover offer for fellow telco Symbio Holdings Ltd (ASX: SYM).
Symbio has proven to be a highly sought-after prize, with Aussie Broadband competing with another telco in Sueprloop Ltd (ASX: SLC) in a bidding war that has been going on for several months. Late last month, Superloop put in a final bid of $1.425 per share in cash and 2.14 Superloop shares for each Symbio share owned.
But just a few days later, Aussie Broadband came to the table with a non-binding offer of $2.21-$2.26 in cash (final amount to be determined by Symbio performance rights and other details) per share and 0.192 Aussie Broadband shares for each Symbio share owned.
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Aussie Broadband share price rises amid ongoing takeover tussle
Based on Aussie Broadband's share price at the end of last week, this valued Symbio at $2.95-$3 a share.
Today's announcement from Aussie Broadband related to this offer for Symbio.
In an ASX statement, the company told investors the following:
Aussie Broadband confirms that it has completed its due diligence assessment of Symbio and, following review and constructive discussions on the Scheme Implementation Agreement, over the weekend submitted a binding offer to acquire 100% of the shares in Symbio, via a Board recommended scheme of arrangement.
This offer is conditional on the Symbio board's recommendation, and will only be valid until 11.59 pm on 31 October. It will also allow Symbio to pay out a fully-franked dividend of up to 35 cents per share so that investors can benefit from the company's stockpile of franking credits.
Symbio's board has acknowledged the binding bid today, but has yet to make a decision:
The Symbio Board is currently considering the Binding Offer and discussions remain ongoing… There is no certainty at this stage that any agreement will be reached or that a transaction will eventuate.
So Aussie Broadband shareholders will have to wait a little longer to see if their company is set for this major acquisition.
The Aussie Broadband share price is now up a healthy 50% so far in 2023.
