Australia's largest credit collection agency, Veda Advantage, was the target of an $814 million private equity bid at the end of January.
Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity and Pacific Equity Partners launched the bid for the firm, which until recently was called Baycorp Advantage, just 18 months after Allco Equity Partners' (AEP) unsuccessful $470 million bid. AEP was left with a 17 per cent stake in Veda after its bid failed, and came under heavy criticism from investors.
The latest deal, however, could land Peter Yates' AEP with a potential $40 million profit. It paid $136 million for its original stake.
The Veda board said the proposal had "sufficient merit to provide the consortium with due diligence access. The board's focus is to maximise shareholder value and accordingly it will facilitate any proposal which it believes is in the best interest of shareholders."
Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity and Pacific Equity Partners have offered $3.61 per Veda share. Veda shares were trading at $3.53 when Investor Weekly went to press.
