Autobarn owner Bapcor rejects $1.8b Bain Capital offer soon after naming Angus McKay as new CEO

Embattled Autobarn owner Bapcor has rejected a $1.83 billion buyout offer from private equity goliath Bain Capital, saying it did not represent a fair value and was not in the best interests of shareholders.

Bapcor on Tuesday also separately announced it had appointed 7-Eleven’s Australian boss Angus McKay as its new chief executive and executive chair, commencing on August 22.

The vehicle parts and accessories business — which also operates the Burson, Autopro and Midas brands — said it had “considered the Bain proposal and the outlook for Bapcor in detail” before rejecting the unsolicited, conditional and non-binding $5.40-a-share bid announced in early June.

“The Bapcor board has concluded that the Bain proposal does not represent fair value for Bapcor, is not in the best interests of Bapcor shareholders and therefore has rejected the Bain proposal,” it said.

Bapcor shares were up 0.6 per cent to $5.10 just after 9am.

The news comes just months after former racing driver Paul Dumbrell made the last decision to pull out of the top job one day before he was due to start in April.

Mr McKay will be paid $1.9 million a year, as well as a $950,000 sign-on bonus. His former roles include chief executive of labour hire and recruitment firm Skilled Group and managing director of Pacific National Rail.

Mr McKay has led 7-Eleven Australia since 2016.

Outgoing Bapcor chair Margie Haseltine said the board was excited to work with Mr McKay and had confidence in his ability to lead the company.

“Angus is a proven leader with extensive experience. Throughout his career he has brought a strategic approach to expansion and operational efficiency,” she said.

“Along with his focus on cultural change, Angus is well placed to drive results in Bapcor’s strategic endeavours and in turn for Bapcor’s shareholders.”

The $1.7b company in April warned second-half profit would be below the first-half’s $54.2m, and the full financial year result was likely to be between $93m and $97m.

On Tuesday, Bapcor reaffirmed the pro-forma net profit estimate and again flagged asset writedowns related to its retail business, as well as a “one-off costs to further rationalise the distribution network”.

“Bapcor remains confident in the long-term outlook for the group and the resilience of the automotive aftermarket industry as evidenced by the continued growth in sales of our two largest segments being trade and specialist wholesale,” it said.