By Leah Montebello
M&C Saatchi directors have continued to unanimously bat away Vin Murria’s AdvancedAdvt takeover of the firm, calling shareholders to reject the deal by taking no action.
M&C directors said they continue to believe the AdvancedAdvt (ADV) offer is “derisory”, adding that it “fails to reflect the growth and opportunities in front of M&C Saatchi and does not offer a fair value for the business”.
The all-share and cash and share offers value each M&C share at 175.8p and 182p respectively, representing a premium of only 10.6 per cent and 14.5 per cent to the closing price of a M&C share on 12 September.
“The implied value of 175.8p and 182.0p respectively is lower than the 200.0p share price at which ADV acquired its stake in M&C Saatchi on 5 January 2022, as well as the implied value of the ADV offer of 207.5p per M&C Saatchi Share as per ADV’s hostile offer on 17 May 2022 which was considered derisory by the M&C Saatchi Directors,” directors said.
The directors also dig at the fact ADV has not pushed forward with US regulatory approval and said it “demonstrates a clear lack of knowledge and understanding of the M&C Saatchi business and its clients and is highly reliant on an M&A strategy that has no guarantee of success.”
On top of this, top dogs at M&C say the firm has issued seven consecutive positive trading updates in the last 12 months and remains confident in its profit forecasts guidance for the full year 2022 and 2023.
The directors have still left the door open for Next Fifteen‘s acquisition price of 247.2p per M&C share, despite businesswoman Murria’s comments about the company’s dwindling share price and deteriorating value.
If the ADV offer lapses following the final date for acceptance of it on 30 September, the M&C Saatchi meetings in respect of the Next 15 Offer will still take place in Q4 2022 once Next 15 receives its regulatory approvals in respect of the CFIUS filing, unless the firm decides to reconvene the M&C for an earlier date.
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