Webjet Sale Tale Sends Shares Soaring

We are approaching the silly season – the long Christmas-New Year break which will be dominated by cricket, tennis, surfing, bushfires, smoke, ham and turkey and headaches.

So is that why the silly speculative story about Goldman Sachs touting Webjet as a $2 billion takeover target got traction yesterday.

The tale (for it is a tale) popped up in the Financial Review’s Street Talk column and that set the hairs a racing on day traders and hedge fundies alike.

Up when Webjet shares at the start – hitting a high of $12.965 – a rise of more than 8%.

The shares ended up 9.6% to $12.78 on the tale. At that price, Webjet is valued at around $1.3 billion. The shares are well under the 2019 high of $17.91 earlier in the year – before it became known the company had been hit by the collapse of UK travel group Thomas Cook at a cost of around $43 million.

Webjet told the ASX that while it’s not received a takeover approach, it would be willing to consider one if deemed to be in the interest of shareholders.

“The Company’s objective is to create value for its shareholders and from time to time we consider acquisition interest in the business,” Webjet said in a filing to the ASX. “Should a proposal be received that was compelling and certain, the company would put it to shareholders. No such proposal exists at present.”

It is the silly season.

About Glenn Dyer

Glenn Dyer has been a finance journalist and TV producer for more than 40 years. He has worked at Maxwell Newton Publications, Queensland Newspapers, AAP, The Australian Financial Review, The Nine Network and Crikey.

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