Lockheed Martin outed as mystery ASG bidder

Solutions provider ASG Group has revealed the mystery party behind long-running acquisition talks was aerospace, security and IT giant Lockheed Martin, but a proposed buyout has failed.

Lockheed Martin first put in a bid for the Perth-based company in October last year, at $1.03 per share. ASG had 172 million shares at the time, valuing the company at $177 million, a $0.36 per share premium.

Earlier this week it revised that offer to $0.68 per share for ASG’s current 206 million shares, dropping the value to $140 million.

ASG late yesterday announced the identity of the buyer but said Lockheed Martin had severely undervalued ASG, and as such, it rejected the most recent offer.

The company reported today that discussions with Lockheed had failed to result in a superior offer and no further talks would take place. Discussions remain in play for a buyout from several other parties. 

ASG has a market cap of around $86.8 million. In its fiscal year 2012, net profit fell to $14.6 million from $15.7 million the previous year, with revenue also down to $150.3 million from $153.3 million in FY2011. 

The company is currently undergoing a restructure aimed at refocusing on cloud services. That restructure last month resulted in the reduction of 50 staff at a cost of $1 million. 

The company’s share price fell 8 percent to $0.42 following the announcement today.