By Robb M. Stewart
The board of Aimia has formed a committee of independent directors to consider a takeover bid from the Canadian investment company’s largest shareholder and other options.
The committee, along with legal and financial advisers, is reviewing the all-cash offer of 3.66 Canadian dollars ($2.67) a share formally launched by Mithaq Capital on Thursday. The company said its options include alternatives that were actively being pursued prior to the bid.
Mithaq, which already owns a 31% stake in its target, has criticized Aimia’s business strategy as misguided, with a focus on private-equity transactions rather than in public markets, and has said the performance of its shares over the last year has been disappointing.
Mithaq and Aimia have been at odds for several months, with Aimia warning its shareholders in April that Mithaq and its affiliates sought to control Aimia out of self-interest. Aimia is currently suing Mithaq for various alleged breaches of the Securities Act in the province of Ontario. The trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 8.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at [email protected]
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