CoreLogic meets with buyout consortium, rejects $7 billion offer as inadequate

(Reuters) – Property data and analytics company CoreLogic Inc on Tuesday again rejected an unsolicited $7 billion buyout offer as inadequate after meeting with the two investment firms that made the bid, Senator Investment Group LP and Cannae Holdings Inc.

“Despite the company’s recent guidance update for 2020 and disclosure of financial projections for 2021 and 2022, Senator and Cannae have not revised their proposal to deliver appropriate value to our shareholders,” CoreLogic said in a statement issued after the telephone meeting on Tuesday.

Cannae and Senator, which jointly hold an economic interest of roughly 15% in CoreLogic, proposed to buy the company for $65 per share in cash. CoreLogic shares closed on Tuesday at $67.06, indicating that many investors are betting on a higher offer.

During the meeting, the investor group asked CoreLogic for more financial documents to better assess the profitability of its business segments, people familiar with the matter said. While the company called the request reasonable, it has not given a firm answer on whether and when the diligence materials might be made available, one of the sources added.

Private equity firms are also circling CoreLogic and are considering potential offers, though the company has not yet received a bid rivaling Cannae and Senator, according to another of the sources.

The people with knowledge of the matter declined to be identified because the meeting was private.

Cannae and Senator declined to comment.

The two firms have said they may call a special shareholder meeting as soon as July 28 to replace CoreLogic’s board if no progress is made.

Last week the investors hired proxy solicitor D.F. King in a step seen as preparing for a potential proxy contest. CoreLogic earlier hired Innisfree as its solicitor.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Boston and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)