Watpac is understood to have put several proposals to Seymour Whyte after first approaching the engineering group with an unsolicited bid in November. Seymour Whyte appointed advisors Investec in early 2017 and began a formal process of considering offers, holding talks with five industry participants before entering exclusive talks with Vinci. The talks are expected to last several weeks.
Watpac chief executive Martin Monro told The Australian Financial Review that he believed the construction group, which is majority-owned by Belgium's Besix group and specialises in residential and commercial buildings, would have been "a great fit" with Seymour Whyte, which specialises in civil engineering.
"We think it made a lot of sense for Watpac shareholders and for Seymour Whyte shareholders to get as far as we did in the process," Mr Monro said.
"While we're disappointed that at this stage it looks like it won't go any further with Watpac, we'll watch with great interest over the coming weeks as to how that story unfolds."
SWL Price at posting:
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