Wylie slams Cleanaway's $9.4B takeover months after selling $42M in shares

What's the deal? Veteran investor John Wylie has attacked Cleanaway Waste ManagementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s board over its handling of EQT GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s $9.4 billion takeover offer for the ASX-listed waste company. His firm, Tanarra CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, called the board "singularly unimpressed … across several dimensions" in a four-page letter to the company.

Why now? The letter landed less than eight hours after Cleanaway chairwoman Samantha Hogg recommended shareholders approve the deal last Thursday. Tanarra timed its objection to the board's formal endorsement.

What could go wrong? Wylie's credibility on price is under scrutiny: his firm sold $42 million of Cleanaway shares months earlier at a far lower price than EQT is now offering. That timing undercuts his complaint that the takeover undervalues the company.

The signal: The dispute shows how activist investors can complicate large take-private deals, even when a board has recommended the offer. As private equity firms like EQT pursue listed targets, sellers who exit early risk losing standing to challenge later valuations.

Read more: Australian Financial Review

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