The share price of S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) toll road operator Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX) is lifting amid news that seemingly indicates it's still firmly in the sights of private equity.
IFM Investors abandoned takeover talks with the company last week, saying it's "not presently in a position to meaningfully progress a proposal".
However, a release to the ASX today shows it's been snapping up more of Atlas Arteria's stock. IFM and its associates now hold a 19% stake in the ASX 200 infrastructure company.
The Atlas Arteria share price lifted to a high of $8.19 earlier today – a 5.7% gain. However, it's slipped to trade at $8.05 right now, representing a 3.87% increase.
That's a notably better performance than that posted by the ASX 200. The index has lifted just 0.13% at the time of writing.
Let's take a closer look at today's news from the ASX 200 share.
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Is this ASX 200 share still a takeover target?
The Atlas Arteria share price is gaining on Thursday. It comes amid news that IFM is still buying up the company's stock despite walking away from acquisition talks.
The pair entered discussions regarding a potential proposal in early June after IFM increased its holding in the ASX 200 company to 15%.
After a period of back and forth, IFM walked away. Though, it left the door open to future talks.
And its interest in such discussions appears to remain. Indeed, a 19% interest in the toll road operator is now in the hands of IFM and associates.
However, neither party have pointed to takeover talks since their previous discussions were put to bed.
A release to the ASX today shows IFM now holds a 9.99% relevant interest and a 9.01% economic interest in Atlas Arteria.
The last purchase made by IFM was dated today and comprised 30.7 million shares priced at $8.10 apiece. That represents around 3% of the ASX 200 company's outstanding stock.
