The board of Crystalate Holdings Plc is strongly urging sharholders not to accept the offer made by industrial and packaging holding company TT Group Plc valuing Crystalate at around UKP32.4m – 86 pence a share. TT already owns 6.6% of Crystalate, and last Friday’s bid for the rest of the the electronics components company, for which TT is offering seven new TT ordinary shares for every 10 Crystalate shares, is, according to TT, in line with its policy to put greater emphasis on manufacturing; rather ominously for Crystalate’s own management, who have promised great things in the past but never really delivered, TT also states that it intends to offer Crystalate its proven management expertise. Under the proposal, Crystalate shareholders would end up with 31% of the enlarged group. TT, which made a pre-tax profit of UKP8.4m on sales of UKP61m in 1989, also claims that its cash flow and balance sheet will be made available to Crystalate to develop its business. TT has interests in industrial components, glass containers and other packaging, and building products. Crystalate’s share price of 78 pence was unchanged on yesterday’s recommendation not to take up the offer.
