The board of food ingredients group Danisco today (10 January) backed the US$5.8bn takeover bid from US chemicals group DuPont.
Danisco’s directors said DuPont’s binding offer – worth DKK665 a share – represented what they called “a strong value proposition” to the company’s shareholders and was in the best interest of the business and employees.
The board said DuPont was “strong strategic fit” with the Denmark-based group and would create “new growth opportunities for both companies”.
DuPont revealed its offer for Danisco yesterday (9 January). DuPont chair and CEO Ellen Kullman labelled Danisco “a premier company” and “a proven innovator”.
In its statement, Danisco said the offer represented a multiple of 12.8x EBITDA based on the past twelve months. It said the bid equated to a 25% premium on its closing share price on 7 December, a 33% premium on last month’s average price and a 90% premium on the share price 12 months ago.
Danisco chairman Jørgen Tandrup added: “We believe this offer represents attractive value for Danisco shareholders at a time when the share price is at an all-time high and that it is in the best interest of the business and our employees. There will be substantial opportunities as part of a larger group and DuPont will bring significant advantages to Danisco’s strategy and further development. DuPont and Danisco make a powerful combination and will benefit from each others’ complementary strengths and skills.”
