CA - Ritchie Bros. Holder Vontobel changes view supports IAA deal

One of Ritchie Bros. ( NYSE: RBA ) top 15 holders, Vontobel Asset Management, now supports the company's planned purchase of IAA Inc. ( NYSE: IAA ) as the proxy services are poised to opine on the deal in the near future.

Vontobel Asset owned 2.39 million shares, or a 2.2% stake, in Ritchie Bros., as of the end of Q4. The RBA holder told Reuters last month that it was opposed to the IAA ( IAA ) deal.

"The hurdles posed by the deal can be overcome if the combined entity can deliver synergies to Ritchie Bros' operations, which we have come to appreciate incrementally more with further engagement with the company," Chul Chang, a Vontobel portfolio manager, told Reuters in an email on Thursday.

The holder disclosure comes as investors expect the influential proxy services ISS and Glass Lewis could opine on their recommendations about the deal as soon as Friday as typically the firms announce their decisions about two weeks before a special meeting, which is set to March 14.

United First Partners said it sees a 70% chance that the proxy advisors recommend in favor of the acquisition for both Ritchie Bros. ( RBA ) and IAA ( IAA ) holders.

Ritchie Bros. ( RBA ) shares initially plunged 18% on the day the original $7.3 billion IAA deal was announced in November with some analysts questioning the transaction. In January, Ritchie Brothers ( RBA ) sweetened its offer for auto salvage company IAA ( IAA ) with a larger cash component as Starboard Value LP made a $500 million investment in RBA.

RBA holders Janus Henderson, Luxor Capital and Eminence Capital have come against the deal , while IAA holder Ancora has supported it. Franchise Partners and Eagle Asset Management, which together own ~8% of Ritchie Bros. ( RBA ) shares, are supportive of the transaction.

Ritchie Bros ( RBA ) highlighted in a letter to its holders on Friday that Vontobel supports the deal for IAA.

For further details see: