Australia's Nitro Software recommends $360 million Potentia offer

(Reuters) -Australia's Nitro Software Ltd on Thursday recommended its shareholders accept private equity firm Potentia Capital's sweetened takeover offer of A$532.3 million ($359.78 million), weeks after they rejected a A$526.9 million offer from Alludo.

Nitro shareholders early last month rejected Alludo's A$2.15 per-share bid, after which Potentia hinted at hiking its offer, securing access to the software company's books and making a A$2.17 apiece offer last week.

Nitro said it now considers Potentia's latest offer to be "superior" to Alludo's, and unanimously recommends shareholders accept it in the absence of any other better offer.

Potentia, which has a 19.31% stake in Nitro, also said its offer could go as high as A$2.25 per share if it obtained a 75% stake in Nitro by March-end and if at least 25% of total Nitro shareholders accepted a scrip offer, Nitro added.

Alludo did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

Alludo and Potentia have been vying for Nitro since late last year, as high inflation, weak consumer demand and the Ukraine crisis slammed technology stocks in particular, setting them up as buyout targets.

Shares of Nitro rose as much as 0.5% to A$2.190, while the broader market was slightly down.

($1 = 1.4795 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Subhranshu Sahu)