Symbio sides with Aussie Broadband on proposed acquisition

Aussie Broadband has entered into a scheme implementation agreement with Symbio, taking its potential acquisition of the telco software vendor to the next stage.

The final price of the deal implies Symbio’s shares are valued at $3.01 per share based on Aussie Broadband’s closing price on 31 October 2023 and $3.03 per share based on its one-month volume-weighted average price on 31 October 2023.

As mentioned when Aussie Broadband unshackled the offer from previously specified conditions earlier this week, shareholders have the opportunity to take the default consideration of 75 per cent cash and 25 per cent scrip or maximise either their cash or Aussie Broadband scrip, subject to scale back as appropriate

Additionally, the value of Aussie Broadband’s shares for the purposes of determining the number of shares to be issued under the default consideration and maximum scrip Consideration has been agreed at the closing price of $3.92 per share on 31 October 2023. 

The deal however is still beholden to typical conditions such as approval of the deal by Symbio’s shareholders.

According to a statement published by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Symbio’s board unanimously recommends shareholders vote in favour of the arrangement in lieu of a superior proposal.

“Having undertaken diligence with two parties over the past several months, the Symbio board has unanimously concluded that the ABB Scheme represents the strongest outcome for our shareholders in the absence of a superior proposal,” said Symbio chair Anne Ward.

In August, Superloop made an offer to acquire Symbio to the tune of $2.85 per share, valuing the deal at about $243 million. Then, in early October, Aussie Broadband penned its initial offer for $3.15 per Symbio share.