Confusion reigns over Euronext's decision to pull out of a €5.5 billion bid for B2B wealthtech platform Allfunds.
The proposed takeover was first announced last week after mounting press speculation that a bid was about to be tabled. The unsolicited bid for Allfunds' entire issued and outstanding share capital was priced at €8.75 share, made up of €5.69 in cash and 0.04059 new Euronext shares. The price represented a 19% premium on last closing.
The bid immediately sent the exchange operator's share price into a spiral, losing 10% of its value in six successive session. Allfunds shares, meanwhile, tracked 13% up, to reach €5,2 billion.
Euronext says it dropped the bid after performing due diligence, an explanation rejected by Allfunds, which claims to have put the brakes on after concluding that Euronext's terms were "inadequate". Euronext said it had not received a rejection from Allfunds.
Whatever the reason, the markets responded by reversing the previous gains and losses at both firms, sending share in Euronext up by 5% and Allfunds down by 13%.
Allfunds, which listed on Euronext in 2021, has built an ecosystem that covers the entire fund distribution value chain and investment cycle, including via Allfunds Connect, a full suite of SaaS-enabled digital, data and analytics tools.
The firm works with almost 3000 fund groups and has more than €1.3 trillion of assets under administration.
Euronext has no previous expertise in the funds market, which would have made integration diffficult, with next to no possibility of cost-cutting synergies.