Couche-Tard has hit back at claims that it manipulated the marketplace with its offer to acquire US c-store rival Casey’s General Stores.
Casey’s, which has so far rebuffed the Canadian group’s US$1.9bn takeover bid, filed a lawsuit containing the allegations on Friday (11 June).
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Casey’s has said that it wants an injunction to stop the Canadian firm from pressing ahead with its bid. The suit alleges that Couche-Tard broke stock-market rules and used a market manipulation scheme to buy the US firm’s stock at an artificially low price.
Casey’s argues that Couche-Tard accumulated over 1.9m shares in the US firm before tabling its $36-a-share bid in April. After making its offer public, Couche-Tard then sold the bulk of the stock for $38.43, the suit alleges.
However, Couche-Tard said: “We believe this lawsuit is entirely without merit and we will vigorously defend against these baseless claims. We are disappointed that the Casey’s board of directors has chosen to proceed down this path, which we believe is designed to distract Casey’s shareholders from focusing on the real issue – our all-cash, premium bid for Casey’s.”
The company added: “We believe our offer price represents full and fair value for Casey’s. Our tender offer was commenced to allow the Casey’s shareholders to decide if they wish to accept an immediate premium in cash, and thereby avoid any uncertainty with respect to the future stock performance of Casey’s, a decision that the Casey’s board seeks to deny its shareholders.
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By GlobalData“We are committed to making this combination a reality as evidenced by the commencement of our tender offer and nomination of a slate of directors for election to the Casey’s board of directors.”
