Retirement village owner and operator Ingenia Communities Group has dropped its takeover attempt of a $200 million parks fund managed by Aspen Group after the plucky Perth group decided to play hardball with its suitor.
Despite Ingenia walking away from a deal, The Aspen Parks Property Fund, considered the jewel in Aspen’s much depleted crown, remains firmly on the market, sources say.
Ingenia has been stalking the fund over the past 11 months, making several approaches to the manager in the hope of striking a deal.
Last week it revealed it had offered to purchase Aspen’s 12.5 per cent share of the fund and the management rights for $5m.
That offer was swiftly rejected by Aspen, which launched a $39.9m capital raising for the fund that it has underwritten. The raising is required to repair the fund’s balance sheet after a spate of writedowns took the fund perilously close to breaching its debt covenants.
With Aspen underwriting the raising, it is understood that its stake in the fund will likely rise, increasing the quantum for any buyer looking to seize control of the vehicle.
Following the launch of the capital raising, Ingenia offered to purchase all the units in the parks fund at a premium to net tangible assets.
But Ingenia has now shelved the deal after Aspen required it submit a binding unconditional offer before September 29 — five weeks after its first approach.
“The proposed timetable does not provide adequate time to complete a prudent level of due diligence and therefore Ingenia is announcing its withdrawal from this process,” Ingenia chief executive Simon Owen said.
Mr Owen said Ingenia remained interested in the parks fund, and was looking to explore alternatives with Aspen.