Emboldened Sika Seeks to Pitch Takeover Alternatives to Family
2015-06-24 13:42:09.614 GMT
By Jan-Henrik Förster
(Bloomberg) -- Sika AG Chairman Paul Haelg said he’s much
more confident about fending off Cie. de Saint-Gobain SA’s $2.7
billion hostile takeover attempt now than at the start of the
year.
While the Swiss adhesives maker has drawn up alternative
proposals to the Saint-Gobain deal, it has yet to make headway
in persuading members of the founding Burkard family to consider
them, Haelg said. The Burkards, which agreed to sell Saint-
Gobain their 16 percent stake with majority voting rights, lost
an appeal to prevent Sika from restricting their influence,
blocking a move to oust executives against the deal.
“I am very surprised that the Burkards don’t want to
discuss alternative proposals with us,” he said on the
sidelines of Sika’s investors day in Zurich today. “We have an
alternative proposal ready and the family is aware of it.”
The court ruling in Sika’s favor and the entrance of an
investment fund backed by Nassef Sawiris that’s agitating for
the deal terms to be changed has given management a boost in a
legal battle that threatens to extend into years.
Sika said alternative scenarios for Saint-Gobain could be a
bid for the whole company or the integration of its Weber
business with Sika’s mortar unit. The integration of the mortar
businesses where both companies compete could lead to synergies
of 150 million euros, Sika said.
The company has strong support from investors to further
resist the deal.
“The decision of the superior court of Zug has given us
much more confidence than we had in January,” Haelg said at the
company’s investors day in Zurich. “The language of the court
is very strong and we feel it’s in line with what we think.”
Buying out the family’s shares is probably not beyond
Sika’s reach, Haelg said, without saying if that’s another
viable option. Southeastern Asset Management, which has acquired
an initial 3 percent of Sika’s share capital and the backing of
the politcally and industrially influential Sawiris, manages $25
billion in funds.
For Related News and Information:
Top Swiss stories: TOPS <GO>
To contact the reporter on this story:
Jan-Henrik Förster in Zurich at +41-44-224-4116 or
jforster20@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Mariajose Vera at +49-89-244478-803 or
mvera1@bloomberg.net
Andrew Noël
2015-06-24 13:42:09.614 GMT
By Jan-Henrik Förster
(Bloomberg) -- Sika AG Chairman Paul Haelg said he’s much
more confident about fending off Cie. de Saint-Gobain SA’s $2.7
billion hostile takeover attempt now than at the start of the
year.
While the Swiss adhesives maker has drawn up alternative
proposals to the Saint-Gobain deal, it has yet to make headway
in persuading members of the founding Burkard family to consider
them, Haelg said. The Burkards, which agreed to sell Saint-
Gobain their 16 percent stake with majority voting rights, lost
an appeal to prevent Sika from restricting their influence,
blocking a move to oust executives against the deal.
“I am very surprised that the Burkards don’t want to
discuss alternative proposals with us,” he said on the
sidelines of Sika’s investors day in Zurich today. “We have an
alternative proposal ready and the family is aware of it.”
The court ruling in Sika’s favor and the entrance of an
investment fund backed by Nassef Sawiris that’s agitating for
the deal terms to be changed has given management a boost in a
legal battle that threatens to extend into years.
Sika said alternative scenarios for Saint-Gobain could be a
bid for the whole company or the integration of its Weber
business with Sika’s mortar unit. The integration of the mortar
businesses where both companies compete could lead to synergies
of 150 million euros, Sika said.
The company has strong support from investors to further
resist the deal.
“The decision of the superior court of Zug has given us
much more confidence than we had in January,” Haelg said at the
company’s investors day in Zurich. “The language of the court
is very strong and we feel it’s in line with what we think.”
Buying out the family’s shares is probably not beyond
Sika’s reach, Haelg said, without saying if that’s another
viable option. Southeastern Asset Management, which has acquired
an initial 3 percent of Sika’s share capital and the backing of
the politcally and industrially influential Sawiris, manages $25
billion in funds.
For Related News and Information:
Top Swiss stories: TOPS <GO>
To contact the reporter on this story:
Jan-Henrik Förster in Zurich at +41-44-224-4116 or
jforster20@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Mariajose Vera at +49-89-244478-803 or
mvera1@bloomberg.net
Andrew Noël