KUALA LUMPUR: Maybank Equities Research advised Astro All Asia Networks shareholders to accept the RM4.30 offer by  Astro Holdings Sdn Bhd to take the pay-TV operator private at RM4.30 per sharea.

It said on Thursday, March 18 the RM4.30 offer price is attractive from a valuation perspective, but not from a historical perspective.

"A delisting is not difficult to achieve, as the offeror needs only 8.3% more shares given the high 72.9% irrevocable undertakings obtained. Furthermore, only two out of 20 brokerage firms have a price target beyond RM4.30," it said.

Maybank Research said the offer price valued Astro at 32.8 times consensus FY11 earnings versus 19.4 times for BSkyB and 11.3 times for Dish Network (US) in FY10.

It is also 14% above the research house's DCF valuation of RM3.76 if Astro is successful in getting all of its arbitration award. There may be unhappy minority shareholders though, since Astro traded at above RM4.30 pre-June 2007, and the offer price is only 5.9% above the IPO price to institutions back in 2003