The takeover bid for Pirelli (yesterday +13%, at 0,4 euro) launched by Marco Polo Industrial Holding, the joint venture between ChemChina (15,01%) and Camfin (65%) starts this morning and will end on 35 October. The offer concerns 76,5% of the ordinary share capital plus 12 million savings shares and aims to cancel the listing of the stock on the Stock Exchange, with the consequent merger between Pirelli and Marco Polo. The price is 15 euros, for a maximum outlay of 5,6 billion euros.
The offer document clarifies that the price cannot be higher than the fixed level even if the right of withdrawal is exercised. This is up to the shareholders who will join the takeover bid, in the event of changes to the articles of association or merger in a non-listed company. In the event of withdrawal, the value of the shares will be established on the basis of the arithmetic mean of the closing prices in the six months preceding the publication of the notice convening the shareholders' meeting called to express its opinion on the merger between Pirelli and Marco Polo.
If the consideration for the withdrawal established on the basis of the closing prices in the six months preceding the operation is higher than 15 euros – warns the document – Marco Polo Industrial Holding is expected to “request the listing of its shares at the same time as the merger with Pirelli”. The clauses contained in the document should frustrate the expectations of the investors who had bet, through the withdrawal, on a higher offer price.
