DuPont has tabled its “final” takeover offer for Danisco after shareholders in the food ingredients maker refused to accept its original bid for the company.
The US chemicals group, which won over too few Danisco shareholders with its initial offer, has upped its bid from DKK665 a share to DKK700 a share.
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DuPont is now valuing Danisco at DKK6.64bn (US$1.32bn) and the company told the Danish firm’s investors that the bid was its “best and final” offer.
Danisco investors had been given until Friday (29 April) to accept DuPont’s first bid. Ninety per cent of shareholders needed to back the offer for it to go through but, despite the Danisco board supporting the bid, only 48% of investors had tendered their shares.
Announcing its latest offer on Friday, DuPont said it had also exercised its right to lower the threshold of acceptance from 90% to 80%.
“These terms represent our best and final offer,” said DuPont Chair and CEO Ellen Kullman. “This increase in the offer price and reduced minimum tender requirement will allow shareholders to tender with confidence, given the premium value and certainty of this offer. We believe the positive outlook and strong recent performances of both companies support these final terms and we remain confident this will bring the transaction to a successful and swift conclusion.
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By GlobalDataKullmann added: “We continue to believe the strategic and financial logic of this acquisition will deliver significant benefits to shareholders, customers and employees of both companies. However, unless 80% of Danisco shares are tendered by the May 13 deadline, we will end our offer, continue executing DuPont’s successful growth strategy, and explore other paths for achieving the benefits that Danisco would have offered us.”
DuPont said its DKK700-a-share offer represented a 67% premium compared to the average price of Danisco’s shares in the 12 months prior to the announcement of the agreement between the two companies on 9 January.
Danisco’s board yesterday backed DuPont’s new offer. “The board confirms that it believes that the increased offer price represents compelling value for the shareholders of Danisco and reiterates its unanimous recommendation to shareholders to accept the offer before 13 May 2011, when the offer period expires,” it said.
