Austal Ltd (ASX: ASB) shares are pushing higher again on Monday as another potential buyer takes a look at the shipbuilder's US business.
At the time of writing, the Austal share price is up 4.62% to $4.53.
The stock has now gained around 18% over the past month and more than 10% in a week. But despite the recent rebound, Austal shares are still down around 32% this year and 45% over the past 12 months.
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Another buyer has entered the picture
According to the release, Austal has held an "initial, preliminary discussion" with US-based Wildcat Infrastructure following media reports about a possible proposal.
Austal stressed that it has not received a formal offer from Wildcat at this stage.
The interest comes while South Korea's Hanwha is already trying to buy Austal's US operations. Hanwha owns 19.9% of Austal and has made a conditional, non-binding proposal valuing the US business at between US$1.05 billion and US$1.2 billion.
Austal has given Hanwha access to conduct due diligence, although The Australian reports the proposed deal is facing some uncertainty.
The report said Austal's weaker US result could affect Hanwha's interest or the price it is willing to pay, while political tensions between the United States and South Korea could also make a deal more difficult.
A closer look at the business
Austal's FY26 result was mixed, with a big difference between its US and Australasian operations.
Group revenue rose 11% to $2.03 billion, but the company posted a $53.6 million net loss. The US division recorded an EBIT loss of $202.8 million, mainly due to provisions linked to loss-making contracts.
The Australasian business was much stronger. Revenue jumped 49% to $650.7 million, while EBIT climbed 137% to a record $85.3 million.
There is also plenty of work already lined up, with more than $5 billion of Australasian contracts under the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement.
The Australian reported that Hanwha's proposal effectively values the whole company at around $2.74 billion, or $6.50 per share.
That's about 43% above where the shares trade today.
What happens next?
There is no guarantee Wildcat will make a formal offer, so it is still too early to call this a bidding war.
But having another interested buyer could give Austal more options as it weighs up the future of its US business.
The timing is also very interesting given the recent share price recovery. Austal shares have climbed around 18% over the past month, although they are still trading well below their highs from earlier this year.
