Recall Holdings Ltd rejected a takeover approach from rival information storage company Iron Mountain and said the bid was undervalued.
This is the latest Iron Mountain attempt at an acquisition, as both companies have been looking for opportunities to buy smaller rivals through the past year.
Recalls board unanimously rejected the A$2.2 billion bid as it represents a premium of “only 9.4%” to Recall’s closing price on December 12. The company said that a partnership between the two would create significantly greater value than the proposed one.
The deal values Recall at A$7.00 per share, including 18% in cash and rest in Iron Mountain shares. However, Recall said it is open to negotiations with its competitor, should it make a better offer.
“There is significant value to be created in the combination of these businesses,” Recall CEO Douglas Pertz said today by phone for Bloomberg. “That benefit is uniquely created by this combination and that needs to be better shared by both parties.”
Recalls value has increased by more than 40% since it was spun off from Brambles in December 2013. After the announcement of the rejected bid, shares reached their highest level in the companys individual history.
Earlier this month Recall announced it had agreed to acquire Business Records Management for $77 million, marking its sixth purchase since July. The company then said its performance would receive a boost in revenue and EBITDA from the acquisitions it made.
According to investment bank Macquarie, a mix of the two companies could create sufficient savings for Iron Mountain to offer as much as A$2.8 billion for Recall.
Should the deal close the biggest data-storage company would receive more than 70% of the outsourced market in the US and UK and around 51% in Australia, said UBS Group.
“We believe our proposal accurately reflected the value creation potential of the combined businesses,” said Iron Mountains CEO William Meaney, adding that Recall overestimated the potential of the combination. Iron Mountain already increased its takeover bid once, on December 5 the company offered A$6.75 per Recall share.
“We see little point in having further discussions with Recall regarding a purchase of the company given their estimated values,” Mr. Meaney said.
Recall Holdings Ltd was unchanged on Friday, but it gained 15.31% on Monday and closed at A$7.38 per share in Sydney, marking a one-year increase of 77.83%. The company is valued at A$2.02 billion. Iron Mountain lost 1.91% and closed at $36.44, with a market capitalization of $7.06 billion.
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