Elliott Rejects McKesson Offer for Celesio, Suggests Breakup
Paul Singer’s Elliott Management to reject McKesson’s tender offer for outstanding shrs, convertible bonds of Celesio, Elliott says in statement.
- Says bid substantially undervalues Celesio, doesn’t provide a “fair deal”
- Says if McKesson paid a fairer price, could still benefit from accretive deal; estimates each incremental euro offered per Celesio shr would only reduce accretion amount by 3c
- Suggests alternative to maximize investor value would be to sell Celesio wholesale business to one buyer and pharmacy business to another
- NOTE: Dec. 5, McKesson offered EU23/shr for Celesio or EU3.9b, including debt EU6.1b
- Bid terms include minimum acceptance threshold of 75% on a fully diluted basis
- McKesson currently holds ~50.51% of Celesio voting rights (Franz Haniel stake)
- Elliott says it holds over 25% of voting rights
