DSM could be acquisition target
DSM [AMS:DSM] the multinational health, nutrition and materials company from The Netherlands, could be a target for a takeover in the near future, the Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad reported, based on a report by analysts Mutlu Gundogan and Philip Ngotho from the Dutch bank ABN Amro.
DSM is an interesting target because it has a strong balance, it’s almost free of debts and it’s low valued, the report said. What’s making the company extra interesting is that it recently sold its 35% stake in the pharmaceutical company Patheon for almost EUR 2bn. DSM is also trying to sell its 50% stake in DSM Sinochem and its 35% stake in ChemicaInvest, the report said.
Analyst Mutlu Gundogan told Het Financieele Dagblad that he can’t mention names of interested parties, but did say that private equity investors could be interested. Earlier the German company Evonik [ETR:EVK]was mentioned as a possible buyer. DSM never commented on the possible interest of Evonik.
If DSM receives an unwanted bid, the company has several protection mechanisms in place to resist a takeover, such as releasing preference shares, the report noted.
Another option for DSM could be to split up the company, the analysts said.
DSM made a turnover of EUR 7.9bn in 2016, an earlier report in Het Financieele Dagblad said.