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Shareholders approve KKR's AU$1.6b MYOB acquisition

The acquisition will be complete in less than a month, should there be no legal hurdles.
Written by Asha Barbaschow, Contributor

Shareholders of accounting software firm MYOB have approved the takeover offer put forward by private equity firm KKR & Co last year, walking away with AU$3.40 per share when the deal closes.

The acquisition, set to be finalised by May 8, 2019, will see KKR & Co wholly own MYOB for around AU$1.6 billion.

"The board today welcomes the decision by MYOB shareholders to support the board's recommendation that the scheme of arrangement should proceed. While there are still several steps to take before the scheme is complete, today's outcome demonstrates that shareholders agree with the board that the scheme is in their best interests," MYOB chair Justin Milne said.

"MYOB is a great Australian company, and the board has every confidence that it will continue to thrive under the care of its new owners."

73.89% of holders who voted, representing 82.59% of votes cast, were in favour of the resolution.

KKR & Co in October made MYOB an offer to scoop it up for AU$3.70 per share, which would see the former spend around AU$1.75 billion to acquire the remaining securities it didn't already own.

The offer was revised in early November, with KKR upping the bid to AU$3.77 per share.

However, in December, MYOB went public with yet another revised offer from KKR, in which the firm dropped its offer by AU$0.37 per share to AU$3.40.

At the time, MYOB's board was not overly enthused by the offer, informing KKR that it wasn't in a position to recommend the revised proposal. The board also said it remained in discussions with KKR regarding its proposal.

"At all times, KKR has indicated its support of management and the strategic growth plan currently underway," MYOB wrote in a statement to shareholders in December.

KKR announced its intentions to acquire MYOB on the same day it upped its stake in the company to 19.9%, after purchasing just under 104 million MYOB shares from Bain Capital for AU$3.15 per share -- approximately AU$327 million.

Bain Capital was left with a 6.1% interest.

MYOB returned to public trading in 2015, after raising AU$833 million for its IPO.

Bain Capital bought MYOB for $1.3 billion in 2011 from Australia's Archer Capital and other shareholders. After returning the accounting firm to the ASX, Bain Capital retained a controlling 57% stake.

MYOB last year announced its intention to acquire Reckon's Accountants Group for AU$180 million.

But MYOB in May pulled the pin on the deal, saying it was not prepared for the long regulatory process that would take place if the acquisition went ahead.

For the 2018 fiscal year, MYOB reported AU$104 million in after-tax profit, on revenue of AU$445 million. Underlying earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) totalled AU$190 million.

It ended the year with 628,000 subscribers, up 57% on 2017.

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