EQT raises takeover offer for Perpetual Ltd
Swedish private equity firm EQT announced a third‑time increase to its non‑binding takeover proposal for Australian financial‑services group Perpetual Ltd. The revised offer values Perpetual at A$22.50 per share in cash, which translates to an enterprise valuation of A$2.55 billion (approximately US$1.78 billion). This price reflects a premium of nearly 19% over Perpetual’s last closing price and is about 4% higher than EQT’s opening proposal of A$21.64 per share made on July 1. The mid‑July offer had been A$22.07 per share, so the latest bid marks a modest upward adjustment.
Perpetual’s share price responded positively, climbing roughly 2.5% to A$19.4, thereby outpacing the broader S&P/ASX 200 index, which posted a 0.9% gain on the same day.
The proposal is conditional on several factors: the successful completion of Perpetual’s planned sale of its wealth‑management business to Bain Capital, satisfactory completion of due‑diligence, receipt of all required regulatory approvals, and the negotiation and execution of definitive transaction documents. Perpetual had previously rejected EQT’s earlier bids, citing undervaluation, and is currently restructuring after agreeing to divest its wealth‑management unit, leaving its corporate trust and asset‑management operations as the core of the prospective acquisition.