Akzo Nobel rebuffs €22.4bn takeover
AKZO Nobel spurned a sweetened, €22.4 billion (R304.88bn) takeover offer from PPG Industries, marking the second time that Europe’s largest coatings company has rebuffed an overture from its US competitor.
PPG is offering Akzo shareholders cash and stock valued at €88.72 a share, the Amsterdam-based company said yesterday.
The original bid valued the Dutch company at €83 a share at the end of February.
As with the initial bid, which Akzo rejected on March 9, the target said the latest offer was too low and not in the interests of shareholders and would lead to job losses.
The new proposal doesn’t warrant Akzo engaging in discussions with PPG, Akzo said.
“This proposal significantly fails to recognise the value of Akzo Nobel,” chief executive Ton Buechner said. “Our boards do not believe is in the best interest of it Akzo Nobel’s stakeholders, including our shareholders, customers and employees. That is why we have rejected it unanimously.”
With the higher bid, Buechner will face growing pressure to negotiate with Pittsburgh-based PPG.
One of the Dutch company’s biggest long-term investors was urging Akzo to carefully evaluate any new offer, people familiar with the shareholder’s position said earlier, asking not to be identified because the discussions aren’t public.
Elliott Management, the hedge fund founded by billionaire Paul Singer, also was pushing Akzo to talk with PPG, people familiar with those talks said last week.
Akzo fell 2 percent to €75.06 at 9.09am in Amsterdam, after closing at a record on Tuesday.
In rejecting the original €20.9bn bid, Akzo said it plans to divest its speciality chemicals business, which accounts for one-third of revenue, to increase the focus