In a statement, Nieuwegein, Netherlands-based Ordina said: PinkRoccade has informed Ordina that it will not comply with the request for further information…Therefore Ordina has decided not to make a tender offer on PinkRoccade. Ordina said the information requested would have enabled it to assess the possibility on synergy advantages and to substantiate the business case for a merger of both companies.
However, in an interview with Reuters, Henk Bosma, CEO of PinkRoccade, responded by saying that PinkRoccade had in fact given Ordina more information on its finances than rival bidder Getronics, and as a result, Ordina would now have a better insight into PinkRoccade’s 2005 budget.
Getronics had suspended its formal E350 million ($469 million) cash offer for PinkRoccade in early January 2005, because Ordina had been allowed to perform due diligence, against the conditions of the Getronics offer. However, Getronics reaffirmed its interest in PinkRoccade soon after, announcing its intention to hold an extraordinary general meeting with shareholders on February 2, 2005 to discuss the possibility of issuing an increased number of shares for PinkRoccade, which would effectively increase its offer for the company.
The management is reported to be authorized to launch an issue of up to 30% of Getronics’ outstanding share capital. And this could amount to as much as E251 million ($331 million) based on Getronics’ market capitalization of E835 million ($1.1 billion) on January 13. This was a result of the decision by Ordina to increase its offer for the business to E370 million ($495.8 million) in cash, trumping the increased offer from Getronics.
Getronics, which has always been the preferred takeover partner by PinkRoccade’s management, had already performed its own audit prior to making a formal offer for the business on November 1, 2004. PinkRoccade meanwhile, was forced to allow Ordina to perform due diligence on the company on December 27, having bowed to what it called heavy pressure from a group of major shareholders, which included the Dutch Government.
However, now that Ordina has withdrawn from the process, this paves the way for Getronics to step back into the ring with its E350 million ($469 million) cash offer.
