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Lay down your weapons, the battle for APDC has been won! Kind of
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A seven-month fight for control of Asia Pacific Data Centre has ended in a kind of draw.
On Monday, 360 Capital Group’s $1.95 cash offer lapsed, leaving it with 67.31 per cent of the company.
360 Capital spent about $142 million to win the data centre.
Rival NEXTDC owns 29.1 per cent, losing a frantic battle that began in May to buy back the data centre it once owned and is still a tenant of.
Former APDC (ASX:AJD) shareholders are the winners, selling up with a 37 per cent gain on the $1.43 share price in January.
The APDC board is set to resign after the AGM on Thursday. Its new majority shareholder will get the two board seats for 360 Capital managing director Tony Pitt and chairman David van Aanholt.
NEXTDC will withdraw the nomination of Stuart Davis and Craig Scroggie as directors, after APDC said it wouldn’t vote any proxies towards them.
ADPC is a special-purpose real estate investment trust (REIT) which was set up to own properties used as data centres.
It owns three data centres in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, all of which are occupied by NEXTDC.
Why own when you can rent?
NEXTDC listed the data centre in 2013. In May, 360 Capital launched itself into the share register with a 19.8 per cent interest.
As 360 Capital tried to roll the board and install its own people, NEXTDC began buying back in, which is when things got nasty.
The tenant’s $1.87 cash offer lapsed, and it accused the suitor of planning to load APDC up with debt in order to do a post-takeover 65c payout to pay off its own loans.
In response the suitor lifted its bid to $1.95.
NEXTDC then went to the Takeovers Panel, which then refused to get involved.
That was a month ago and 360 Capital has swept the field.
It says earnings and distributions will now be higher than a forecast 3c in fiscal 2018 – thanks to the new board of APDC deciding on how much it should pay out to its shareholders.
360 Capital has been contacted for comment.
