The National Veterinary Care (ASX: NVL) share price is up by 53% on takeover news.
is one of the largest veterinary service businesses in Australia and New Zealand. It aims to grow its network of clinics through acquisitions and improve their performance organically at a clinic level. It has acquired around 100 vet businesses across the two countries since 2015 and is adding more as time goes on.
National Veterinary Care’s Takeover News
This morning National Veterinary Care announced that it has entered into a binding takeover with Australian Veterinary Owner’s League, trading as VetPartners,
VetPartners is going to acquire all of the shares of National Veterinary Care through a ‘scheme of arrangement’.
VetPartners owns and operates over 140 clinics across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
What’s The Takeover Price?
VetPartners is going to pay $3.70 per share, which is a “significant” 56.8% premium to the closing share price last week. It’s also a 59.5% premium to the average share price over the past month and a 56.8% premium to the average share price over the past three months.
The takeover has priced National Veterinary Care’s market capitalisation at $251.5 million and an enterprise valuation of approximately $325.5 million.
How Likely Is The Takeover To Happen?
National Veterinary Care’s directors have already unanimously recommended that shareholders should vote in favour of the takeover, subject to usual conditions such as shareholder, court and Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval.
Management Comments
National Veterinary Care’s Managing Director Tomas Steenackers said: “The coming together of a National Care and VetPartners is an exciting milestone for both relatively young, fast growing businesses. They are aligned through a collective commitment to clinical excellence and our clients will continue to enjoy high standards of care and community feel from their local clinics.
“Both businesses also have a shared focus on employees, education and wellness and will be able to offer a wide range of exciting new professional development opportunities for our employees.”
