Think Childcare receives a $79 million takeover offer

Think Childcare (ASX:TNK) is currently considering a takeover offer made by Alceon Group.

Alceon has made a $1.35 per share bid for Think Childcare – worth $79 million.

The group is an Australian private equity play founded in 2010 and with $3.8 billion in investments, predominantly in the retail sector.

Alceon is no stranger to ASX small cap land. Among other investments it is the largest shareholder in retailer Mosaic Brands (ASX:MOZ) and executive director Richard Facioni is the company’s chairman.

The offer was not a significant premium to Friday’s price. However it was a premium to its volume weighted average price (VWAP) in the past month and quarter – by 23 per cent and 46 per cent respectively.

Think’s board has not endorsed the offer yet but has established a committee to consider it. It gave Alceon a four-week period for Due Diligence and has agreed to negotiate a deal in good faith.

The ultimate deal will be subject to approval of its shareholders, even if the board gets behind it.

Recovering from COVID-19

Think Childcare, similar to its peers in the childcare sectors, saw an impact from COVID-19 restrictions earlier in the year but things have turned around since – its net profit rose by 62 per cent.

Back in August, it told shareholders it had a pipeline to deliver new services with an end value of $100 million over the next 36 months.

Think Childcare shares rose a modest 4 per cent this morning. They are down 2 per cent in the last 12 months having nearly recovered its COVID-19 losses.