Primary Ups The Pressure On Symbion
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday February 7, 2008
THE fate of Symbion Health should be sealed within days, after predator Primary Health Care increased the pressure by announcing it will not add to its $2.7 billion cash offer.
Primary also said its bid would become unconditional if it could secure at least 50.1 per cert acceptance for its offer "by the end" of Tuesday. If it cannot declare its offer unconditional, Primary, whose offer is scheduled to close on February 21, will, in the absence of a competing offer, walk away from the assets it has coveted for years and chased for the past 12 months. The Symbion board, which has recommended shareholders reject Primary's offer, was locked in a meeting last night trying to formulate a response to Primary's announcement. Primary now controls 45.59 per cent of the stock in Symbion. Primary's boss, Ed Bateman, told the market last night that his cash offer of $4.10 a share was above Symbion's independent expert's valuation of the company at between $3.52 and $3.91 a share. "The attractiveness of Primary's cash offer has been reinforced by the recent sharemarket fall of over 15 per cent since November 2007," Dr Bateman said. "Primary's increasingly attractive cash offer is the only offer available to all Symbion shareholders and will not be increased in the absence of a competing offer." Last year Primary said it would declare its offer unconditional should it achieve acceptances of 50.1 per cent, but it did not reach the target by that deadline.
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
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