Monash IVF Shares Rocket 30% as the Board Rejects an A$0.80 Takeover Bid

Monash IVF Shares Soar on Bid Rejection, Board Says A$0.80 “Undervalues the Business”

Shares in Monash IVF (ASX: MVF) delivered one of the most notable moves on the market today, with shares surging nearly 30% after the company rejected a non-binding cash takeover offer of A$0.80 per share. The bid came from Genesis Capital Investment Management and Washington H. Soul Pattinson, who already hold a combined 19.6% stake in the business. The proposal aimed to acquire 100% of Monash IVF, but the board’s decision to reject it signals a firm belief that the offer undervalues the company’s long-term prospects.

This response highlights the confidence management has in the group’s underlying fundamentals and growth trajectory, particularly in the Australian and Southeast Asian fertility markets. However, with the share price now trading closer to the proposed offer, it raises an interesting question for investors, whether this rally strengthens Monash IVF’s negotiating position or makes a higher bid less likely.

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Board Pushes Back: Monash IVF Says A$0.80 Offer Undervalues It vs Sector Peers

Shareholders are likely asking why Monash IVF Group turned down an offer from bidders who already own nearly 20% of the business. The key reason was valuation. The board viewed the A$0.80 per share proposal as materially undervaluing the company, implying an enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiple of 7.7x based on FY25 estimates. In the board’s view, that figure falls well short of precedent transactions within the fertility sector.

To put this into perspective, Virtus Health’s acquisition by CapVest in 2022 was completed at a multiple above 10x EBITDA, underscoring how fertility operators are typically valued as defensive, cash-generative businesses with resilient margins. From our standpoint, the rejection seems less about a lack of interest in strategic discussions and more about ensuring that any future bid properly reflects the sector’s premium valuation profile and Monash’s strong positioning within it.

Here is what the board had to say

Monash IVF’s board concluded that the proposal materially undervalued the company’s brand equity and long-term potential, a strong signal to shareholders that management remains confident in the business’s fundamentals and growth outlook. Chairman Richard Davis stated, “The Monash Board, in consultation with its advisers, has formed the view the proposal in its current form is opportunistic in its timing and materially undervalues the company.”

His comments point to the timing of the bid, which arrived during a short-term period of share price softness driven by cyclical declines in IVF cycles. The board viewed the offer as an attempt to take advantage of temporary weakness rather than a fair reflection of Monash’s medium-term earnings trajectory.

Could this impact a future takeover

This stance effectively turned the market’s attention to the company’s underlying value, sparking a sharp 30% rally in the share price. With MVF shares now trading near the original A$0.80 offer, any future bid from the Genesis–WHSP consortium would likely need to increase by at least 30–40% to re-engage shareholders or the board.

For our part, what’ll be interesting to see is where MVF goes from here. The management of the company think it is only onward and upwards from here – they wouldn’t ‘sell out’ if they thought value could be created (which is why DroneShield took such a tumble when its management sold tens of millions of dollars in shares). But there is also the risk shares could fall further and the company may need to accept a reduced offer, or management will be rolled. Only time will tell where to next, but it will be fascinating to watch – there is precedent for either scenario to play out.