AA Plc’s shareholders approved a takeover of the roadside assistance provider after the private equity suitors overcame opposition from a major investor.
The deal was cleared by investors holding 88.6% of the shares voted at a meeting Thursday, AA said in a statement. The offer from Warburg Pincus and TowerBrook Capital Partners values London-listed AA at about 2.8 billion pounds ($3.8 billion) including debt, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Albert Bridge Capital LLP, the deal’s most vocal opponent, disclosed last week that it no longer owns any shares in AA. It previously held a 19.5% stake under some customers’ managed accounts.
The University of Texas’s investment arm and a Boeing Co. pension fund recently terminated their client agreements with Albert Bridge and redeemed their holdings, meaning it could no longer vote their stock, according to London regulatory filings.
The private equity consortium said Jan. 11 that shareholders owning 30.1% of the company, including the University of Texas, have indicated they plan to vote in favor of the deal.
Warburg Pincus and TowerBrook’s offer of 35 pence per share values the company’s equity at about 219 million pounds. AA shares have lost more than 90% of their value since their 2015 peak.
Source: Bloomberg
