The hostile takeover of Uponor Oyj heated up on Monday after Aliaxis SA increased its offer to €1.9 billion ($2.1 billion), and was again turned down by the Finnish plumbing-equipment maker’s board.
(Bloomberg) — The hostile takeover of Uponor Oyj heated up on Monday after Aliaxis SA increased its offer to €1.9 billion ($2.1 billion), and was again turned down by the Finnish plumbing-equipment maker’s board.
Aliaxis offered €25.75 a share for the Vantaa-based company in an all-cash public tender offer, it said in a statement. The offer represented a premium of 35.5% compared to the highest closing price of Uponor’s shares during the 12 months ended April 14. That’s after Uponor had already once spurned a €1.8 billion indicative bid from the Brussels-based company in April, saying the €25 per-share cash offer was too low.
Still, the new offer failed to impress Uponor’s board, which concluded that it is “insufficient in light of the company’s value and its future prospects,” Hans Sohlstrom, who is head of the board committee preparing the matter, said in a statement. The board reiterated that it has received other “indications of interest” and is “investigating the company’s strategic alternatives.”
Uponor’s shares gained as much as 2.5% to €27.04 in the Finnish capital. Following the April rejection, Aliaxis has continued to increase its stake in Uponor, quadrupling its holding in a month, while reiterating its long-term interest in the Finnish company.
Earlier this month, Uponor said that it had started talks with other potential suitors after rejecting Aliaxis’s hostile bid.
The offer must clear an acceptance threshold of more than 50% of the outstanding shares in Uponor. However, completion of the deal does not need a recommendation from the Finnish company’s board.
Aliaxis said it does not see any “material substantive issues” in obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals and expects to complete the tender offer early in the fourth quarter. The company — which said in April the deal would combine two companies with highly complementary piping and plumbing product ranges — will finance the offer through a combination of own funds and external debt.
“Joining our teams and operations makes industrial and financial sense and creates value for all stakeholders and a strong Uponor as a part of Aliaxis,” Aliaxis Chief Executive Officer Eric Olsen said.
Read More: Aliaxis Boosts Uponor Stake to 20% Amid Opposition for Takeover
(Updates with Uponor rejection, share price.)
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