Equity Trustees has released a Bidder's Statement to shareholders as it moves forward with a planned acquisition of The Trust Company.
The statement details Equity Trustees' offer to shareholders of 33 shares in Equity Trustees for every 100 shares held in The Trust Company.
"Unusually for an unsolicited takeover bid, both companies have significantly outperformed the market since the offer was announced almost one month ago," Equity Trustees chairman Tony Killen said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
"Significantly, following the announcement, both share prices have settled at around the offer ratio," he said.
"That being said, it seems to me the market tacitly endorses the offer we are making."
Equity Trustees has said that its February 21 offer of $5.28 per Trust Company share is a premium of 11.2 per cent to The Trust Company's share closing price and 13.3 per cent to the volume weighted average share prices over the one month ending at February 20.
The Bidder's Statement outlines Equity Trustees' solutions for current Trust Company issues, including the provision of a chief executive and company board as well as improved IT systems.
It also notes that Trust Company shareholders will hold approximately 59 per cent of the shares in the combined group and will be entitled to this share of any benefits achieved by combining the two companies.
"If Equity Trustees' offer for Trust Company is successful, the combined group will emerge as a stronger entity with greater capacity to attract interest from the wider investment community," Mr Killen said.
"I am confident the combined group, with its diversified operations, greater resources and broader range of products and services will be better positioned to grow, pursue development opportunities and meet any challenges to the industry and broader financial markets."
The offer is subject to a number of conditions including acquiring interest in 90 per cent of Trust Company shares on offer.
The offer opens after Easter, in early April, and will remain open for a minimum of one month.
