Nicolas Saverys has opted to remain firm on his initial bid to take over Belgian gas shipowner and infrastructure provider Exmar, despite shareholders’ push for an increase in the price.
After failing in its first bid, Saverys’ investment vehicle Saverex is maintaining its offer of €11.1 per Exmar share, which will be reopened this Monday, August 28.
Saverex and its affiliates control just shy of 78% of Exmar’s outstanding shares and have given the remaining shareholders until September 15 to accept the bid.
Saverys initially offered €12.1 in cash for each share it does not already own, a premium of 24.74% over Exmar stock’s closing price on March 31, before Exmar’s shareholders agreed to a dividend payment of €1 per share at a general meeting in May.
Since the announcement of the results of the initial acceptance period, the Exmar share has traded slightly above the bid price, and Saverex said it believes that “this increase may be caused by market speculation regarding a potential increase of the bid price,” adding that its offer adequately reflects the fair value of the Exmas, “as confirmed in the prospectus and by the shareholders selling during the first acceptance period.”
Meanwhile, Bart Goemaere, the editor-in-chief at Belgian investment magazine BeursTips/TuyauxBourse that also holds Exmar stock and together with a group of other minority shareholders, represents about 15% of Exmar’s capital, estimated Exmar’s net asset value at around €21 per share.
Goemaere told Splash that Saverys is asking the shareholders “to put the cards on the table”, meaning he wants to see how many of those remaining shareholders that are resisting the offer really want to resist.
“If he (Saverys) makes an offer at around €14 to €15, he will be able to convince everybody to sell,” Goemaere said.
