BW LPG has not given up in its pursuit of rival Dorian LPG, today submitting an increased offer for the company up from 2.05 BW LPG shares to 2.12 BW LPG shares per Dorian share in an all share transaction.
The new offer represents a value of $8.67 per share based on BW LPG’s closing share price on Friday. The total equity value of the transaction would be $479m and total enterprise value is around $1.1bn including the assumption of net debt.
In May, the Andreas Sohmen-Pao-led gas vehicle tabled its initial bid to take over John Hadjipateras’s Dorian, a bid that was firmly rejected shortly after. Dorian concluded that the bid failed to recognise the value of its younger ships and superior commercial performance, while forcing shareholders to accept equity in a more highly-leveraged combined company.
In a release today outlining the new offer, BW said: “Since announcing its initial proposal on May 29, 2018, BW LPG has had conversations with many shareholders of both companies, and the sentiment to BW LPG’s merger proposal has been overwhelmingly positive with many shareholders expressing surprise at Dorian’s refusal to engage.”
Martin Ackermann, CEO of BW LPG, commented: “By increasing our offer at this time, we are reaffirming BW LPG’s belief that this transaction will deliver significant value to both companies’ stakeholders and that the time to act is now. It is evident from our discussions with Dorian shareholders that there is strong support for the companies to engage immediately regarding our proposed combination and capitalize on this compelling opportunity.”
