BGH Capital rejoins the race for Webjet Group

Another substantial shareholder in Webjet Group (ASX: WJL) has made a bid to fully acquire the online travel agency and services company, as BGH Capital puts a non-binding $357 million proposal on the table that is only slightly larger than rival Helloworld's (ASX: HLO) offer two days ago.

BGH Capital, which through a cooperation agreement with Ariadne Australia and corporate raider Gary Weiss already owns 18.3 per cent of ordinary shares in Webjet, has made an indicative offer for all remaining shares via an off-market takeover at an all-cash price of $0.91 per share.

This compares to BGH's offer at $0.80 per share on 13 May which was rejected three days later, and the $0.90 per share offer made by Helloworld this week.

BGH has clarified its new offer will not be reduced by the A$0.02 dividend announced in connection with Webjet's half-yearly results published this week, where revenue held steady at $67.9 million despite an 8 per cent reduction in bookings, and statutory net profit after tax surged by 51 per cent to $6.2 million.

Webjet Group is the consumer-facing division of formerly listed entity Webjet which was split in two in September last year, spinning off the other business-to-business division as Web Travel Group (ASX: WEB).

The B2C company now the target of two suitors comprises the Webjet OTA (online travel agency) divisions, GoSee, a car and motorhome rental platform, and Trip Ninja, a travel technology business that helps travel companies improve their booking systems.

The latest offer is subject to a minimum acceptance condition of 75 per cent, a unanimous recommendation in favour by the Webjet Group board, no 'prescribed occurences' and the required regulatory approvals.

"After carefully considering the Revised BGH Proposal, the Webjet Board has agreed with BGH’s request to provide BGH with an opportunity to conduct due diligence, subject to the parties agreeing to a mutually acceptable non-disclosure agreement," Webjet Group stated in an announcement to the ASX this morning.

"Webjet shareholders should note that the Revised BGH Proposal is non-binding and there is no assurance that it will proceed in accordance with its terms or at all."