Industrial auction giant Ritchie Bros. is calling on shareholders to support a takeover of IAA, a leading global digital marketplace connecting vehicle buyers and sellers.

The two parties announced a definitive acquisition agreement late last year which has the unanimous support of both boards of directors.

In a communique to shareholders, Ritchie Bros. CEO Ann Fandozzi says the transaction should “unlock substantial value that neither Ritchie Bros. nor IAA could achieve on its own”.

“This confidence is grounded in the extensive due diligence we conducted before entering the IAA agreement, the complementary nature of the IAA asset, management's experience in the auto industry and our board and management team's record of execution – both in M&A integration and driving successful transformation.

"We urge our shareholders to put aside Luxor Capital Group LP's misleading claims and flawed analysis by voting 'for' the IAA acquisition on the white proxy card. The compelling strategic and financial benefits we can create with IAA affirm our strong belief that the IAA acquisition is the most value-maximising opportunity for the company," she says.

Luxor Capital Group, which controls 4.7 million shares of Ritchie Bros., has opposed the proposed merger, saying it is “the result of a deeply flawed and manipulated process led by a management team with no experience in large-scale M&A and caught up in the fever of deal-making at any cost”.

Shareholders will vote on the transaction at a special meeting of shareholders on March 14, 2023.