Australia's Mayfield Childcare hits 4-month high on rival bidder's entry

Mayfield Childcare

13/12/2022 02:54

** Shares of Mayfield Childcare  MFD.AX  rise as much as
11.8% to A$1.425, their highest level since July 29
    ** Says it received a buyout bid from Busy Bees Early
Learning Australia Pty Ltd for A$1.35 cash per share, implying a
valuation of about A$86.6 million ($58.58 million) for the
company 
    ** Offer price represents a premium of 5.9% to MFD's last
closing price of A$1.275 
    ** Busy Bees offer is higher than a previous offer from
Genius Education Holdings Pty Ltd, MFD's biggest shareholder who
owns nearly a third of the company, for A$1.28 per share 
    ** MFD to grant due diligence to Busy Bees 
    ** Stock logs biggest intraday percentage gain since Dec. 2
    ** Trading volumes near 9 times the 30-day average, with
over 800,000 shares traded so far today
    ** Stock has risen 10.4% YTD, as of last close 
($1 = 1.4784 Australian dollars)
 (Reporting by Harshita Swaminathan)
 ((Harshita.Swaminathan@thomsonreuters.com))