RBA - Ancora details support for revised IAA-Ritchie Bros. deal (update)

Updated 4:25pm : Adds investor buying 1.4 million RBA shares in Q4.

Ancora Group, an investor in IAA Inc. ( NYSE: IAA ), detailed its support for Ritchie Bros. ( NYSE: RBA ) revised takeover agreement for the auto salvage company.

Ancora, which has pledged to vote its 4% stake in IAA for the Ritchie Bros. ( RBA ) takeover and also has an 0.5% stake in RBA, believes the IAA-RBA combination could double RBA shares in the next 12-24 months, according to a presentation the investor released on Wednesday.

Activist investor Ancora, which had originally opposed the Ritchie Bros. deal when it was announced in November, decided to support it when th e terms of transaction were changed last month. The investor said it also believes that RBA's cost synergy goals for the combination are "conservative" and likely achievable within 12 months.

Ancora also highlight that it has issues with Luxor Capital, a Ritchie Bros. ( RBA ) holder, who has said it still doesn't support RBA buying IAA even after the deal terms were changed. Ancora alleges that Luxor has "seemingly misaligned interests" and that it "suspects" Luxor may be short IAA shares and would benefit if the transaction is terminated.

Luxor responded to Ancora's claims in a statement emailed to Seeking Alpha.

“We have reviewed the wildly inaccurate and incorrect statements of other shareholders and find them entirely self-serving," Luxor  said in the statement. " Our only concern is keeping our focus on what matters here – preserving value for other long-term shareholders of RBA like ourselves."

Separately, Boston Partners purchased 1.63 million shares of Ritchie Bros. ( RBA ) in Q4, accumulating a new 1.47% stake, according to a 13F filing.

Last Monday Ritchie Bros. investor Janus Henderson said it was against the IAA ( IAA ) deal, while Bloomberg reported that Ritchie Bros. ( RBA ) holders Independent Franchise Partners and Eagle Asset Management were supportive of the deal.

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