(Adds details on structures of the offers, background on the deal)
Aug 7 (Reuters) - Village Roadshow VRL.AX said on Friday that private equity firm BGH Capital would buy it for an enterprise value of up to A$758 million ($548.41 million) after a months-long pursuit of the Australian theme parks and movie theatre operator.
Under the new offer, BGH will pay up to A$2.45 per Village Roadshow share, which represents a 16.7% premium to the stock's last closing price and is up slightly from A$2.40 per share it had offered earlier this year. and Pacific Equity Partners were in the race to buy the country's largest theme park operator before authorities shut down non-essential pubic venues nationwide to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The company, which owns one of Australia's largest cinema chains, is one of the country's most exposed firms to the coronavirus crisis.
Village had extended its exclusivity period with BGH for a fourth time till Aug. 6. BGH put forth two alternative structures for shareholders to consider on Friday.
The first includes a base offer price of A$2.20 per share and the second of A$2.10 per share, with additional offer prices conditional on Village re-opening its theme parks and cinemas and Queensland borders being open to any person from New South Wales and Victoria.
"The BGH Transaction provides the opportunity for all VRL shareholders to realise an attractive cash price for all of their VRL shares, in a very uncertain operating environment," the company said in a statement.
Village added that it expects to hold a scheme meeting in November.
($1 = 1.3822 Australian dollars)