In the latest twist to the takeover battle surrounding PinkRoccade, the Voorburg, Netherlands-based company re-iterated its earlier comments that it saw no strategic fit with Ordina, but sees a merger with Getronics as strategically the right answer.
Getronics came back into the takeover race recently with an equivalent cash sum for the business to that being tabled by Ordina. Getronics raised its offer from a cash-and-shares deal valued at E338 million ($446 million) to an all-cash deal of E350 million ($465.5 million), which was dependant on PinkRoccade not opening its books to any third parties.
Amsterdam-based Getronics’s new offer effectively trumps the equivalent one made by Ordina, since PinkRoccade’s management have always favored a tie-up with Getronics. In a statement, the company said: This [new bid] serves completely both the strategic interests of the company as well as the justified interests of our shareholders.
An agreement in principle was reached with Getronics on November 1, after PinkRoccade had received and rejected a higher offer from Ordina some days earlier. However, the fact that Ordina had initially offered more money for the business caused considerable disquiet among PinkRoccade’s shareholders. And earlier this week, they had forced its hand to re-open talks with the company, prompting Getronics to make a higher offer.
