blog After a few months of speculation, it has emerged that the mystery bidder attempting to buy Perth-headquartered IT services firm ASG is Lockheed Martin, who informed readers may remember is currently making a major IT services push into Australia off the back of its massive $283 million desktop services contract with the Australian Taxation Office. Last week ASG said in a statement issued to the ASX:
“On 18th October 2012, ASG advised the market that a significant participant in the IT services market had approached ASG with an indicative, non-binding and conditional proposal to acquire all the shares in ASG at a price of $1.03 cash per share. The ASG Board now confirms that this participant was Lockheed Martin, a listed US-based global security, aerospace and information technology company.”
However, ASG is playing hard to get, adding:
“… the Board has determined to reject the Revised Proposal on the ground that it materially undervalues ASG and has advised Lockheed Martin accordingly. ASG’s advisers remain in discussions with Lockheed Martin and, as noted in ASG’s announcement of 18th March 2013, the company remains engaged in discussions with a number of other parties regarding alternative proposals. At the date of this announcement, these discussions are continuing in various forms; however there is no guarantee that there will be a binding proposal that can be put to shareholders from any party.”
There’s also this further statement, issued a day later:
“Further to the announcement on 21st March 2013, discussions with Lockheed Martin have now ceased without resulting in a superior proposal. The company remains engaged in discussions with a number of other parties regarding alternative proposals. At the date of this announcement, these discussions are continuing in various forms; however there is no guarantee that there will be a binding proposal that can be put to shareholders from any party.”
From all of this, it appears as though Lockheed is pretty serious about trying to bulk up in Australia rapidly. And who can blame it? With the Defence desktop contract under its belt, it’s got extremely solid credentials. Now it just needs to start adding scale.