Downer EDI has secured 33 per cent of Spotless as the contractor's hostile $1.2 billion takeover bid for the services group picks up steam ahead of the bid's closure at the end of the month.
But the chief executive of Spotless, Martin Sheppard, said on Friday morning that he was just getting on with normal day-to-day operations, and not being distracted as the bid process headed to a crucial point.
"We are running the business as if we didn't have the distraction of Downer at all," Mr Sheppard said.
The mood inside Spotless at its Melbourne headquarters was still upbeat and people were going about their business normally, he said. Mr Sheppard had been out visiting customers on Friday morning.
He said there had been some solid progress and important milestones in the past few weeks, including Spotless and its consortium partners now "getting the keys" to the new $2.6 billion Royal Adelaide Hospital following commercial acceptance.
It is the largest public-private partnership that Spotless has been involved in. But patients won't start being admitted to the new hospital until September 5, under a phased shift from the current hospital about 1.5km away in the Adelaide CBD.
However, Spotless investors have started tendering shares into Downer's offer, taking $1.15 per share in cash, after competing bidders failed to emerge and the June 29 deadline for accepting the offer approaches.
Downer said on Friday morning that it had a 32.99 per cent stake in Spotless. The contractor is hoping to get at least 50 per cent of Spotless by the end of the day, allowing it to declare its offer unconditional on Monday.
Downer had previously made its offer conditional on getting at least 90 per cent of Spotless and the company not making any earnings downgrade before the bid closes.
Almost one-third of Spotless' shareholder register is believed to be in the hands of hedge funds, including the 10.37 per cent stake held by New York hedge fund Coltrane Asset Management. Hedge funds typically acquire shares in takeover targets in the hope of making a profit as share prices fluctuate before takeover offers close.
Mr Sheppard said there had also been some large sporting events at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the past few days including a Brazil versus Australia soccer friendly and the Melbourne versus Collingwood AFL match last Monday which both had big crowds. Spotless runs the catering services at the MCG under a long-running contract.
"They ran seamlessly," Mr Sheppard said.
