MADRID, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Spanish infrastructure company Ferrovial FER.MC confirmed its takeover offer for Australian detention centre firm Broadspectrum BRS.AX on Wednesday, saying the offer was more attractive in the current environment.
The Broadspectrum board last month recommended that shareholders take no action on the bid, which it claims is opportunistic and undervalues the company. a Second Supplementary Bidder's Statement, Ferrovial gave five reasons why its around A$692 million ($475 million) offer was justified, including a drop in stock market and commodity values and uncertainty over its earnings.
"In the current environment where the outlook is highly uncertain, Ferrovial's certain cash offer of A$1.35 per Broadspectrum share is even more attractive," it said.
Broadspectrum shares closed at A$1.255 on Wednesday. They fluctuated between A$0.825 and A$1.795 last year.
The Sydney-listed company, formally known as Transfield Services, runs detention camps on the island nation of Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus island.
The Ferrovial bid is well short of the A$1 billion it offered a year ago in a proposal the camp operator rejected as too low. since that offer, the company's market value has plummeted amid criticism by human rights groups that the detention centres were being used to hold asylum seekers and allegations of physical and sexual abuse at the camps.
($1 = 1.4582 Australian dollars)