FitzWalter Capital has made its final offer for Auction Technology Group (ATG).

The £491m offer made by ATG’s largest shareholder comprises a value of £4 per share and represents a 48% premium on its closing share price on 2 January.

The offer comes after ATG received 12 "unsolicited" acquisition bids from the private equity firm. It had rejected these offers, stating that they represented an “opportunistic attempt” at a time when its public market valuation is disconnected from the company’s fair value.

In the last five years, ATG’s share price has fallen by over 60%.

The private equity firm said the offer is final and will not be improved or increased because it has not been granted to due diligence.

However, FitzWalter said that it reserves the right to increase the amount of the possible offer if the ATG board announces that it recommends or is minded to recommend an offer on between terms, if there is an announcement of an offer or possible offer for ATG by a third party, or the takeover panel otherwise provides its consent.

The announcement by FitzWalter does not amount to a firm intention under the takeover code and therefore, the private equity firm still has until 2 February to make a formal offer.

Partner at FitzWalter, Andrew Gray, concluded: "It is uncontroversial to say that a potential buyer who is not able to conduct due diligence will be constrained in their bidding in comparison with a buyer who is. If FitzWalter are not able to access diligence in relation to ATG, it is shareholders who will ultimately miss out."

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