Australia's Takeover Panel declines to investigate Frasers' Accent Group concerns

Australia’s Takeovers Panel has decided not to investigate Frasers Group’s concerns over Accent Group’s recommendation that shareholders reject its takeover offer.

The panel was asked by Frasers earlier this month to review Accent’s target statement, which outlined why the Australian footwear retailer believed Frasers’ 0.65 Aus dollar-per-share proposal was “materially inadequate”.

Accent, which operates brands including Hoka, Platypus and The Athlete’s Foot, issued a corrective statement after the panel raised concerns about some of the information supporting its recommendation.

These included Accent’s assessment of the offer price against its six and 12 month volume weighted average share prices, previous prices paid by Frasers for Accent shares, and the extent to which its 2030 Strategic Growth Plan had been considered.

The panel said the supplementary statement had addressed its concerns and provided shareholders with enough information to assess Accent’s claims about the value of Frasers’ offer.

Frasers launched its takeover bid on July 1 and has since extended the offer period to the end of September. There has so far been no change in Frasers’ shareholding in Accent.