Altium Will Continue to Engage With Suitor Autodesk After Takeover Rejection --Update

   By Stuart Condie 
 

SYDNEY--Altium Ltd. Chairman Sam Weiss said the Australian software firm will continue to engage with Autodesk Inc. after rejecting its takeover proposal on valuation grounds.

Mr. Weiss told an investor call on Friday that the board of Altium would continue to speak with Autodesk President and Chief Executive Andrew Anagnost.

Altium this month rejected Nasdaq-listed Autodesk's unsolicited proposal, which valued Altium's equity at about US$3.91 billion and was described by analysts as opportunistic.

"As a public company, we are always mindful of shareholder value and we have no preconceived opposition to an acquisition," Mr. Weiss said. "However, we believe it should be at the point and at a price that reflects the unique value of Altium as a company and its demonstrated and future wealth creation potential."

Mr. Weiss said Altium recognized the multiples implied by Autodesk's proposal were high by industry standards, but insisted the offer of 38.50 Australian dollars (US$29.08) per share did not reflect the underlying value of the electronics design software firm.

"We believe that Autodesk also recognizes the future value of the Altium software and platform and that their offer to acquire the company is in some part a reflection of their own conviction of the value they can extract," Mr. Weiss said.

Lingering worries over the impact of Covid lockdowns on industry have prevented Altium shares from recouping all the losses sustained when the pandemic roiled global markets. Yet some analysts recently expressed optimism that Altium can benefit from rebounding global economic growth.

The stock hit a six-month high of A$38.26 on June 7 after Autodesk's proposal was announced. It was up 2.2% at A$35.27 on Friday despite Chief Financial Officer Martin Ive acknowledging that Altium's fiscal 2021 revenue may narrowly fall short of its US$190 million-US$195 million guidance.

Chief Executive Aram Mirkazemi reiterated Altium's commitment to its targets of US$500 million revenue and 100,000 subscribers by 2025.

Write to Stuart Condie at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 17, 2021 20:53 ET (00:53 GMT)

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