Volante, Commander bury hatchet

In a joint statement issued to the Australian Stock Exchange early this afternoon, Commander and Volante said the IT services company's board had "unanimously recommended that, in the absence of a higher financial proposal, Volante shareholders accept the increased offer for Volante shares from Commander...".

The offer -- which closes on 31 March -- comprises cash consideration of AU$1.05 per share together with a 10 cent special fully franked dividend. It values Volante at approximately AU$147.7 million. Commander's initial offer in December of AU$1.01 per share valued the company at around AU$130 million.

The companies said their combination "will form a much stronger Australian IT and services group with annual revenue of over AU$1 billion and will be accretive to Commander's financial performance".