Brennan's MOQ acquisition hits next stage

Peter Ward (MOQ CEO)

Brennan’s acquisition of MOQ Limited has progressed to the next stage, with the latter company gaining the green light to hold a shareholder vote. 

The Federal Court of Australia has allowed MOQ to hold a meeting with shareholders to vote on its prospective acquisition by Brennan, according to a statement posted on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Earmarked for 4 November, the meeting follows a bidding war between Sydney-based IT services provider Atturra and Brennan. 

The bidding war started when Atturra put in a bid to fully acquire MOQ for $15 million on 30 June in a move that was seen at the time as having the potential to create "one of Australia’s largest IT services businesses". Atturra made a revised offer on 5 August, increasing it by 20 per cent to $0.06, pushing the deal price to $18.6 million.

Brennan IT stepped up its bidding game offering $0.066 cash per share, valuing the business at about $20.5 million on 8 August. Atturra fired back, stepping its bid up to $0.070 per share, approximately $21.7 million, on 11 August.

However, Atturra finally bowed out of the race of 16 August, leaving Brennan in the clear to pursue the acquisition. 

Now, MOQ has released a scheme booklet to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which will be released to the ASX after it is registered with ASIC.

In the company’s latest statement, MOQ’s board of directors said they unanimously recommend for shareholders to vote in favour of the deal in the absence of a superior proposal. In total, the board holds 34.1 per cent of all issued shares.

MOQ’s revenue for FY22 rose 18 per cent to $81.9 million during the 12 month period to 30 June, while net profit after tax was $6.4 million in the red.