Steadfast CEO Robert Kelly has urged Calliden shareholders concerned about a takeover offer from the broking group to wait until they have read official offer documents before making a judgement.

“I would think that shareholders would want to see what the scheme booklet looked like and the comments of the independent expert on the offer before they make comment,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

The scheme booklet outlining Steadfast’s takeover proposal for Calliden and including an independent expert’s report will be sent to shareholders following a court hearing last Friday to approve the documents.

The offer for 100% of the company – comprising 41.5 cents in cash and a five-cent fully franked dividend per share – has the support of the Calliden board but must also be voted on by shareholders.

Steadfast plans to on-sell part of the business to Munich Re, which is Calliden Agency Services’ largest third-party insurer.

Responding to suggestions that some Calliden shareholders believe the offer undervalues the company, Mr Kelly told insuranceNEWS.com.au the offer is “good and fair”.

“It is certainly an offer that took both ourselves and Munich Re a long time to evaluate,” he said. “We are confident that when all the documentation is submitted to the court the offer will be acceptable to all parties.”

Calliden Agency Service Group Executive Mike Hooton says a shareholder meeting is expected to take place in early December.

He declined to provide details on the scheme booklet, including the independent expert’s conclusion.

“We are not able to comment on the independent expert report until the booklet is released to shareholders,” he said.