EQT AB's takeover bid for Perpetual comes to an end

Perpetual has rejected Swedish private-equity investor EQT AB's best and final takeover bid.

EQT AB's offer of $22.50 per share was rejected by Perpetual after its board said it carefully considered all aspects of the further revised proposal.

The board determined the proposal "undervalues Perpetual and is not in the best interests of Perpetual's shareholders as a whole."

The $22.50 offer was the same amount proposed by EQT AB on July 27.

A few weeks prior, EQT AB bumped up its $21.64 cash per share offer to $22.07.

The difference this time around is that EQT AB, which trades as Wildflower, said Perpetual can pay a dividend of up to 60 cents per share for the six months ending 31 December 2026 without reducing its offer price of $22.50 per share.

This meant if Perpetual declared the dividend, shareholders who were eligible would receive both the $22.50 per share under the takeover scheme and up to 60 cents per share as a dividend. Effectively, shareholders could have received a total of up to $23.10 per share.

"As the further revised proposal was expressed as a best and final proposal (in the absence of a competing proposal), Perpetual considers that the process of engagement with EQT has now concluded," the board told shareholders this morning.

Perpetual recorded stable revenue of $1.4 billion in FY26, as growth was affected by lower asset and wealth management revenue.

Operating revenue of $1.4 billion was stable year-on-year, with revenue growth reflected by its corporate trust division, while net profit after tax (NPAT) was $88.9 million, up from the$58.2 million loss reported in FY25.

Underlying profit before tax (UPBT) for corporate trust was $98.8 million, 9% higher than FY25. Funds under administration (FUA) rose to $1.3 billion, up 6% from the previous corresponding period.

EQT AB is one of the world's largest private equity managers, with about US$333 billion ($476bn) in assets under management and an established presence in the Australian market.