FRANKFURT, March 13 (Reuters) - Kloeckner & Co's biggest shareholder aims to raise its stake in the
German metals trader beyond 30% to strengthen the group in light
of economic challenges, the shareholder said on Monday.
Swoctem, the vehicle of Kloeckner's top shareholder and
supervisory board member Friedhelm Loh, therefore launched a
voluntary public takeover bid, a mandatory step under German
market rules once the 30% ownership threshold is crossed.
The 9.75 euro per share bid values Kloeckner at 972.6
million euros ($1.04 billion).
Shares in the company rose 5% to 9.99 euros, indicating
investors are expecting a higher offer.
"The aim is to enable the Company to face the macroeconomic
environment, which is characterized by numerous challenges, on a
legally and economically stable basis," Loh, who already owns
25.25% of Kloeckner, said in a statement.
Swoctem, which in 2020 withdrew an expression of interest it
jointly made with Apollo regarding Kloeckner, said it
did not aim for a majority stake in the company and that there
would be no minimum acceptance threshold for the bid.
Kloeckner said it had taken note of the announcement, adding
it would comment separately on the offer.
($1 = 0.9333 euros)
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, Editing by Rachel More and
Tomasz Janowski)
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