The Danish William Demant negotiates the purchase of Audika – Boursorama

The Danish William Demant negotiates the purchase of Audika – Boursorama

AUDIKA IN PAST BE REDEEMED BY THE DANISH WILLIAM DEMANT

COPENHAGEN / PARIS (Reuters) – William Demant, the world of hearing solutions, Audika Group announced Tuesday it had entered into exclusive negotiations with a view redemption by the Danish group participation 53.9% owned by the holding company Holton in the French group.

William Demant offers 17.78 euros per share, representing a premium of 32% Audika during Monday’s closing, which is thus valued at € 168 million.

If successful of its proposed takeover, the Danish company will launch a bid for 46, 1% minority interest in the hearing group.

The two companies said in a statement that management Audika “remain unchanged” around its co-presidents and founders, Alain and Jean-Claude . Tonnard

Around 24:40, Audika as flies from 27.85% to 17.26 euros and signed the largest increase in the CAC Mid & amp; Small of the Paris Bourse, which evolves bit (-0.01%). For his part, William Demant title rose 1.6% to the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

“It’s a pretty good deal for leaders to Audika. They had trouble getting out of rut, “said Guillaume Cuvillier, deputy director of research at Gilbert Dupont, citing the difficulty of the French group to expand its sales.

” This announcement is a half-surprise “, added- he bought after recalling the Italian subsidiary of Audika, Italian Amplifon had clearly expressed his interest in June for the French group who was then rejected this proposed combination.

For the Danish group, Audika is a structured group in a highly competitive market in which manufacturers compete distributors, opticians and today, pharmacists, says the analyst.

He added that Audika now has an offer “packaged”, called “Connect” including maintenance, battery replacement, brand under which William Demant will sell its products. In an industry “highly fragmented”, groups like William Demant carry out acquisitions to protect their market share, he said.

William Demant Group, which employs 9,000 employees in more than 25 countries achieved a turnover of nearly nine billion Danish kroner (1.2 billion euros) in 2013. The results in 2014 will be published on 26 February.

(Ole Mikkelsen, Véronique Tison and Raoul Sachs for the French service, edited by Jean-Michel Belot)

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