By a staff reporter
Commonwealth Property Office Fund Ltd (CPA) has terminated a takeover bid from Dexus Property Group Ltd and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) after the consortium failed to match a rival bid from GPT Group Ltd, launched last week, in the specified time.
In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, Dexus said while it remained "strongly committed" to its bid to take over all remaining CPA shares, the competing proposals had a "significant scrip component" and it was "too early to respond".
In a separate statement, GPT Group welcomed the announcement, and said that its own bid was a "significant growth opportunity" for GPT and that it would "create significant value for both groups of investors".
Commonwealth Managed Investments Ltd (CMIL), CPA's responsible entity, said the Dexus-CPPIB consortium could continue due diligence on CPA until December 9.
Last week Dexus said it intended to block the rival $3 billion GPT Group offer, made after Dexus had gone into due diligence.
CMIL earlier backed a sweetened takeover bid from the Dexus-CPPIB consortium which valued the target's stock at $2.42 billion.