Asset management firm Loring Ward International Ltd. announced that the special committee of its board of directors has received a letter from Alan Werba Acquisition Corp. indicating that it intends to launch a takeover offer for the firm.

Loring Ward says that the letter notified the committee that AWAC intends to make a bid to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Loring Ward at a price of $12 per share, which represents a 6.7% premium to yesterday’s closing bid price on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The company notes that the letter is highly conditional, and there can as a result be no assurance that any bid will be forthcoming or, if made, as to the price. The special committee and the board are reviewing the letter and will determine the appropriate course of action, it notes.

The board has retained BMO Capital Markets as its financial advisor and Stikeman Elliott LLP as its legal advisor.