Local telecom equipment maker Accton Technology Corp (智邦科技) said yesterday its board took a neutral stance on the initial NT$1 billion (US$31 million) share purchase offer from local private equity investor Hong Jeng Investment (宏瞻財物顧問) for a 10 percent stake.
Last week, Hong Jeng Investment said it intended to buy 54.46 million common shares of Accton at NT$20 per share over a 10-day period ending on Friday, as part of its long-term strategy to buy out the firm and the company's growing Internet and telecom equipment businesses.
"Based on the assessment of the financial consulting agency we hired, the price is reasonable," said Alex Cheng (鄭家俊), a manager at Accton's legal auditing division, by telephone. "The board holds a neutral view on this offer."
The NT$20 per share offered by Taipei-based Hong Jeng represents a close to 72 percent premium compared to its net value of NT$11.61 per share, or a premium of about 22 percent on its closing stock price of NT$16.35 last Wednesday, when the share purchase offer was announced, Cheng said.
Cheng declined to reveal whether any board members considered accepting Hong Jeng's offer after company chief executive Huang An-jie (
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