French Luxury Retailer Makes a Friendly Bid for Puma
from the NY Times
By G. THOMAS SIMS
Published: April 11, 2007
FRANKFURT, April 10 — The French luxury goods retailer PPR bid about $7 billion on Tuesday for Puma, the German sporting goods company, promising to keep its chief executive, Jochen Zeitz, at the helm of the company he turned around.
The question is whether Puma investors will continue to show the same confidence in Mr. Zeitz, who emphatically endorsed the deal, and sell their shares to PPR, or whether they will resist and put Europe on course for yet another cross-border takeover battle.
PPR, famous for its Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent brands, said it had acquired a 27.1 percent stake in Puma for 1.4 billion euros ($1.87 billion), and that it would offer 330 euros ($441) each for the remaining shares, valuing the company at $7.08 billion. But the share price rose 29.68 euros ($40), or 9.4 percent, on Tuesday to 343.93 euros ($460) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and some bankers were already recommending that shareholders reject PPR’s offer.
HVB, a unit of UniCredit, advised investors to hold out. Uwe Weinreich, an analyst at the Munich bank, said that he expected the share price to rise to 400 euros ($535).
Mr. Zeitz will face investors on Wednesday at Puma’s annual shareholders’ meeting.
“It will not be easy,” said Roland Könen of Bankhaus Lampe in Düsseldorf. “Questions will come about whether the offer is fair.”
Mr. Zeitz took over Puma 14 years ago at the age of 30 and has transformed it from an unprofitable manufacturer of track-and-field clothing into a designer of trendy sportswear. As Mr. Zeitz reminded shareholders in a letter this year, the value of the company has risen 4,300 percent during his tenure.
But European investors have rejected other deals recently, as this decade’s fast economic growth makes them more vocal and confident. For example, E.On, the German energy giant, last week abandoned its yearlong attempt to acquire its Spanish counterpart, Endesa, in part because shareholders held out for a higher price.
for the complete story, go to
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/business/worldbusiness/11puma.html?_r=1&n=Top%2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territories%2fFrance&oref=slogin
By G. THOMAS SIMS
Published: April 11, 2007
FRANKFURT, April 10 — The French luxury goods retailer PPR bid about $7 billion on Tuesday for Puma, the German sporting goods company, promising to keep its chief executive, Jochen Zeitz, at the helm of the company he turned around.
The question is whether Puma investors will continue to show the same confidence in Mr. Zeitz, who emphatically endorsed the deal, and sell their shares to PPR, or whether they will resist and put Europe on course for yet another cross-border takeover battle.
PPR, famous for its Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent brands, said it had acquired a 27.1 percent stake in Puma for 1.4 billion euros ($1.87 billion), and that it would offer 330 euros ($441) each for the remaining shares, valuing the company at $7.08 billion. But the share price rose 29.68 euros ($40), or 9.4 percent, on Tuesday to 343.93 euros ($460) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and some bankers were already recommending that shareholders reject PPR’s offer.
HVB, a unit of UniCredit, advised investors to hold out. Uwe Weinreich, an analyst at the Munich bank, said that he expected the share price to rise to 400 euros ($535).
Mr. Zeitz will face investors on Wednesday at Puma’s annual shareholders’ meeting.
“It will not be easy,” said Roland Könen of Bankhaus Lampe in Düsseldorf. “Questions will come about whether the offer is fair.”
Mr. Zeitz took over Puma 14 years ago at the age of 30 and has transformed it from an unprofitable manufacturer of track-and-field clothing into a designer of trendy sportswear. As Mr. Zeitz reminded shareholders in a letter this year, the value of the company has risen 4,300 percent during his tenure.
But European investors have rejected other deals recently, as this decade’s fast economic growth makes them more vocal and confident. For example, E.On, the German energy giant, last week abandoned its yearlong attempt to acquire its Spanish counterpart, Endesa, in part because shareholders held out for a higher price.
for the complete story, go to
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/business/worldbusiness/11puma.html?_r=1&n=Top%2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territories%2fFrance&oref=slogin
Commentaires