Shareholders in Australia's largest auto dealer, Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE), are set for a likely windfall, with the opportunity to buy new shares in the company for a significant discount.
Shareholders who were on the books on Friday, October 3, are being given the opportunity to take part in a $309 million capital raise, at the deeply discounted price of $21 per share.
Eagers announced on Friday it had raised a separate $143 million in an institutional capital raising and had made a $50 million strategic placement to Mitsubishi Corporation, at $21 and $18 per share, respectively.
The money is being raised to help Eagers pay for a 65% controlling stake in CanadaOne Auto Group, which the company is acquiring for $1.04 billion, as announced earlier in the week.
Retail shareholders set for a win
Eagers' retail shareholders are being given the chance to take part in the necessary capital raising, and at this point, it looks like a bargain at the $21 per share price.
Eagers shares, rather than falling on the announcement of the large capital raise at a steep discount to the prevailing share price, actually surged higher on Friday, up 10.2% at $32.30.
So retail shareholders will make a solid 53.8% gain on their new shares, should the share price hold up. And the analysts over at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), at least, think this is a pretty good bet.
While their 12-month price target on the stock is below Friday's share price, at $29.98, it's still well above the $21 offer price for the capital raise.
Canada deal looks attractive
In terms of the deal to buy the stake in CanadaOne, Macquarie's analysts say it's "a hard to fault acquisition'', with the target company having a track record of strong organic and inorganic growth.
Over the last 2.5 years, revenue has had a 32% compound annual growth rate (CGAR), with organic at a 15% CAGR.
Macquarie's analysts said the Canadian market was attractive, given it was 1.6 times the size of the Australian market, and was highly fragmented, and was less competitive, with only 36 brands versus 75 here.
The acquisition could also be a stepping off point for further purchases in the North American market, Macquarie said.
Post merger, Eagers Automotive will be a top-five global automotive retailer. This should further strengthen its global original equipment manufacturer partnerships and, over time, could provide some synergies.
Macquarie's analysts said there were several factors giving them confidence in their outperform rating on the stock, including the possibility of further offshore growth, the potential for earnings upgrades, and on a macroeconomic basis, interest rate cuts.
Further information on the retail entitlement offer will be sent to Eagers shareholders, and the offer will close on October 27, with the new shares to start trading on November 4.
