FNZ's exploding offers land agreed deal at GBST - for now, at least

Some heavy handed tactics and a big bag of cash have finally hurdled FNZ into pole position at takeover target GBST.

It is understood GBST’s board flipped its recommendation over the weekend and signed a new takeover agreement with FNZ.

The new deal is at $3.85 a share, to be done via a scheme of arrangement and is about as unconditional as a target company could expect at this stage. It came after a couple of long nights of takeover talks and some unconventional tactics on both sides, including FNZ’s series of exploding offers.

It is understood GBST will announce the new agreement on Monday morning, barring any overnight twists.

The deal puts about a $270 million equity value on the Australian-based financial services technology company, which is about twice where it was valued prior to Bravura Solutions putting it in play in April.

The big question is what American giant SS&C Technologies does. SS&C was running due diligence on GBST on an exclusive basis, with its three-week period due to lapse about now. SS&C’s most recent bid was at $3.60 on an indicative and non-binding basis.

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Source: FNZ’s exploding offers land agreed deal at GBST – for now, at least