MinterEllison was pleased to advise independent education provider RedHill Education Limited (RedHill) in relation to the off-market takeover bid by iCollege Limited (iCollege).

On 11 October 2021, iCollege’s offer for RedHill closed with it reaching approximately 93% control of RedHill. iCollege will now compulsorily acquire the remaining shares in RedHill in accordance with a Corporations Act process that will take a further 4 – 6 weeks to complete.

MinterEllison has assisted RedHill in managing two competing off-market takeover bids from iCollege and UCW Limited over the last year. It successfully reached a recommended offer with iCollege through execution of a bid implementation agreement on 12 August 2021.

MinterEllison assisted throughout the due diligence processes and with the drafting and negotiation of transaction documents.

The transaction consideration was in the form of all scrip in iCollege, which represented a dollar value of $1.235 per RedHill share - a significant premium for RedHill shareholders.

MinterEllison co-lead partner Sudharshan Senathirajah said:

"RedHill's and iCollege's merger is expected to create a leading independent Australian education provider with a diversified portfolio and immediate and long term cost and revenue synergy opportunities. A more diversified portfolio should assist with mitigating COVID-19 related issues and risks.

"The education sector has faced a challenging period of time over the last 18 months. This transaction is a positive indicator around the value of education in the community and its future opportunities," he added.

Mr Senathirajah led the MinterEllison team alongside partner Nick Broome. They were supported by Mark Simkiss, Josh Carfi, Arman Saffar, Andrew Longo and China Waters.