SYDNEY, Oct 6 (Reuters) - U.S. credit agency Equifax Inc (NYSE:EFX) EFX.N sweetened its takeover offer for rival Veda Group Ltd VED.AX on Tuesday, winning the Australian target's approval, as the weak Aussie dollar and stumbling share market fuel a frenzy of inbound M&A deals.
Three weeks after Equifax proposed to buy the Sydney-headquartered firm for A$2.3 billion ($1.63 billion), both companies said Equifax had upped its proposed cash takeover price to A$2.4 billion.
They also said Veda will now let the U.S. firm conduct exclusive due diligence and that it plans to recommend the takeover if Equifax proceeds to a formal offer.
The revised offer "reflects Veda's outstanding market position and represents a strong financial outcome for our shareholders", Veda Chair Helen Nugent said in a statement.
Lured by a 13 percent decline in Australia's dollar against the greenback since the start of 2015 and recent falls on the share market, Australian inbound deals are up 23 percent by value so far this year compared with the same period last year, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The average value of Australian inbound deals is the highest on record at $127 million, up 31 percent on the year before.
Veda shares rose 1.9 percent to A$2.70, outpacing a broader market .AXJO gain of 1 percent but less than Equifax's increased proposed offer price of A$2.83, as investors factor in the possibility that the deal will go ahead.
($1 = 1.4134 Australian dollars)