US financial transaction technology vendor TNS has rejected a $16 per share takeover bid from a group led by John McDonnell, its founder and former chief executive.
TNS said earlier this month that it was opening up its books to the McDonnell group. The vendor says it also provided the information to two other potential bidders, both of which declined to submit an offer.
In December McDonnell offered $20 per share for the company, backed by private equity firm ABRY Partners, substantially more than the latest bid.
Henry Graham, TNS CEO, says: "We were surprised that the McDonnell group reduced its proposed offer so dramatically and apparently took such a pessimistic view of the company's prospects."
TNS says the latest the $16 proposal was "inadequate" as it "substantially undervalued" its business.
The December bid was lower than an earlier $22 per share offer that McDonnell made in March last year, which was rejected by the company in August.
The vendor is now terminating the current bid process, saying the decision is in the best interest of its shareholders.
"Now that this process has concluded, we can return our focus to executing on the company-wide initiatives we previously implemented. We continue to be very optimistic about TNS' future," says Graham.