TransAlta eyes takeover by U.S. private equity firms
TranAlta 3-month TSX chart
TransAlta Corp. said Monday that private equity investors want to buy the power generation and marketing company for $39 a share.
TransAlta said it received a letter on July 18 after the close of stock markets from LS Power Equity Partners seeking to negotiate a possible takeover.
No formal offer has been made yet by LS Power for Calgary-based TransAlta.
Shares of TransAlta finished Fridayat $32.25, meaning an offer of $39 would carry a premium of almost 21 per cent.
The stock rose $4.86, or more than 15 per cent, to close at $37.11 on the TSX.
LS Power is a unit of Luminus Management LLC and Global Infrastructure Partners, a pair of New York-based private equity firms.
"We believe that our proposal for TransAlta provides shareholders with compelling value," James Bartlett, president of LS PowerEquity Advisors LLC, said in a release.
Earlier this year, TransAlta avoided a shareholder showdown with Luminus, which owned about eight per cent of the firm at the time. TransAlta announced a share buy-back plan, bumped up its dividend and sold off its Mexican assets for $300 million.
"As we did in previous matters relating to Luminus, TransAlta's board of directors has reconstituted its special committee of independent directors, will carefully consider the letter and will respond in due course," Donna Soble Kaufman, chair of the board of directors of TransAlta, said Monday.
"As always, the board will pursue the best course of action to enhance long-term value for TransAlta shareholders. There has been no offer and shareholders need not take any action," she said.
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