Jonathan Milner urges Abcam shareholders to vote against proposed acquisition

Jonathan Milner, the founder and one of the largest shareholders in Abcam (ABCM), issued an open letter to the Company’s shareholders in light of the recently published scheme circular detailing the proposed acquisition of Abcam by Danaher Corporation (DHR) or its affiliates. The letter read in part, “I, along with my team of advisers, have considered the details of the Scheme Circular: Management’s projections were everything I hoped they would be with Abcam now poised to reap the returns of the five-year plan and significant investments made. This transaction is not due to close until mid-2024, a transformational year for Abcam: FY23 to FY24 EBITDA margins are expected to increase by over 600bps accompanied by 16% revenue growth. I believe that such delivery would be expected to result in a significant uplift in Abcam’s share price. Longer term, the Scheme Circular describes an even more attractive business: revenue growth of 14%; significant expansion in adjusted EBITDA margins from FY23 through to FY26 when margins are expected to be nearly 50%, an increase of 1,140 bps. With so much value creation potential ahead why is the Board rapidly pushing this transaction through now? Now more than ever, $24 is the wrong price at the wrong time and represents a significant transfer of value from Abcam’s shareholders to Danaher’s shareholders. I will be issuing a more extensive presentation in the coming days which will cover the reasons to vote against the $24 per share bid from Danaher…I URGE ALL SHAREHOLDERS TO VOTE AGAINST THIS PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE TO THE BOARD THAT THEY ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE PROPOSED ACQUISITION. YOU CAN CONTINUE TO VOTE AGAINST USING THE VALID WHITE PROXY CARD OR THE BLUE FORM OF PROXY / BLUE ADS VOTING INSTRUCTION.”