Street Talk understands the global juggernaut is considering its own proposal for the struggling employment services company.
CVC Capital Partners’ run at APM Human Services may have hit a hurdle after its period of “hard exclusivity” ended last Thursday.Street Talk understands rival buyout firn Bain Capital is considering its own proposal for the struggling employment services company and has been working with the bankers at Jefferies Australia.
This would put Bain in competition with CVC Asia Pacific which is attempting to sweep APM off the bourse, just 2½ years after Madison Dearborn floated it for $3.3 billion. Of note, Bain is understood to be far from committed to making a formal approach but the US private equity giant and Jefferies country head Michael Stock are looking for an angle. CVC is now in working under “soft exclusivity” terms, which are due to end at 5 pm on 27 March, leaving the door open to an interloper.Gilbert + Tobin on defence.
The PE giant was back with a revised $2 a share bid just 10 days later, structured as a scheme of arrangement and offering APM shareholders the option. APM’s stock closed Tuesday’s trade at $1.65 - up around 100 per cent since the takeover offer was first announced but a far cry from the $3.55 IPO price. The stock dropped as low as s 54¢ in January after it reported first-half underlying earnings of $148 million or 21 per cent below consensus expectations.has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories.