Klöckner advises against takeover offer

Klöckner & Co’s management and supervisory boards have recommended to shareholders not to accept the voluntary public takeover offer by SWOCTEM GmbH. They say the offer price of €9.75 ($10.62) in cash per Klöckner & Co share is not adequate, Kallanish reads in a statement from the German steel distributor.

The boards say they have independently thoroughly reviewed the offer document published by the bidder on 27 March. Their recommendation is supported by the opinions of Goldman Sachs and Macquarie Capital.

The offer price represents a premium of approximately 0.5% on the three-month average price of €9.70 per share, and is thus significantly below the historical median of takeover transactions in Germany, Klöckner states. Also, the offer price does not reflect the fundamental value of Klöckner & Co based on its growth and profitability potential, the boards find.

SWOCTEM said it intends to increase its existing shareholding in Klöckner to above 30% but does not aim for a majority stake or to take the company off the stock exchange.

Christian Koehl Germany