Kiwi trading website Trade Me Group has managed to get something of a bidding auction going.
US private equity giant Hellman & Friedman (which had a pass at Fairfax Media, the former owner of Trade Me, last year) has bid $NZ6.45 a share for Trade Me, valuing the company at $2NZ.56 billion.
Trade Me shares jumped 2.81% to a new all-time high of $NZ6.22 on the back of the news. In Australia, they were up 3.7% to $A5.91.
The Hellman bid just tops the first offer for the company of $NZ6.40 a share from UK private equity player, Apax Partners,
Neither offer is binding at this point. Both are subject to due diligence. Apax is set to make a binding offer on December 12.
The fact that Trade Me shares are under the $NZ6.40 Apax price and the $NZ6.45 level tells us investors are not certain that a bid will emerge after due diligence.
Trade Me was sold it to Fairfax in 2006 for $NZ700 million which in turn floated Trade Me on the NZX and ASX in late 2011 at an $NZ1.07 billion valuation.
