The Gold Coast-based business is valued at approximately $251.5m
Allens has advised on the multimillion dollar sale of an ASX-listed veterinary services business via scheme of arrangement.
The firm advised National Veterinary Care as it sold off all of its issued share capital at $3.70 per share to Sydney-based veterinary clinic operator VetPartners. This values National Veterinary Care at around $251.5m overall – a strong value in light of the current pressure on the financial market as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme has been approved by shareholders and the Supreme Court of Queensland.
National Veterinary Care announced the commencement of the deal back in December 2019, and the transaction was implemented effective 8 April.
The move serves to extend VetPartners’ reach across the Asia Pacific as it adds more than 100 veterinary clinics to its existing network of over 140 clinics across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
“While the dramatic impact of COVID-19 in recent weeks presented a number of short-term challenges for the transaction process, the merger of these two businesses provides VetPartners with an excellent footprint across southeast Asia from which to grow in the long-term in what remains a very fragmented market,” said lead partner Franki Ganter.
In addition to assisting on the sale, Allens advised on multi-jurisdictional issues given the scope of the transaction.
“The sale of National Veterinary Care involved an international strategic purchaser, which added legal and regulatory complexity to the deal. The advice Allens provided was instrumental to navigating these issues, allowing us to get the deal over the line at a time of global uncertainty,” said National Veterinary Care chair Susan Forrester.
The Allens corporate team was led by Ganter, who was supported by managing associate Noah Obradovic, associate Greg Travers, lawyer Bridget Costello and law graduate Dylan Houghton. The court process team consisted of partner Alf Pappalardo, associate Rebecca Oldfield and lawyer Inez Botta-Stanwell. Partner John Hedge of the competition team was also on the firm’s legal team for this transaction.
InterFinancial served as National Veterinary Care’s lead financial adviser, while Wilsons served as financial adviser.
