Swiss wants to review the exchange ratios of the shares of the two groups. He does not want the Lafarge CEO as general manager of the future entity and requires more power, signaling the end of the marriage of equals.
Thunderclap or gamble? Monday, Holcim initiated the showdown face Lafarge by a pithy statement challenging the merger of the two cement. This while preparing for their fusion are very advanced and a buyer, Irish CRH was found for the assets to be sold …
This weekend, in the wake of a Holcim Board, her French fiancé received a follow-up letter on Monday, a press release from Holcim lapidary fusion is suspended. “The Board of Directors decided that the agenda of the General Meeting of 13 April 2015 will only cover topics related to Holcim” merger there will be not subject to plan for the approval of shareholders. “It’s not a problem, it may be subject to any subsequent extraordinary general meeting,” puts a Swiss stakeholders.
The reason for the decline of Holcim? The Swiss first diplomatic note we are still waiting some antitrust green lights (USA, India …) and then attack the real subject: “The Board concluded that the merger agreement [signed between the two groups July 7, 2014, Ed] can not be implemented in its present form and offered to negotiate the exchange ratios and issues of governance.
Lafarge said it refused to renegotiate on other topics that exchange ratios, “the statement said. Lafarge has indeed shown immediately release that it would “explore the possibility of a revision of the parity in line with recent market conditions, but he would accept no other changes to existing agreements.”
Bruno Lafont referred
And for good reason. Lafarge had sold to its shareholders the scenario of a marriage of equals, with equality to the Board, and President of the future entity appointed by the Swiss, but a general manager (the current CEO of Lafarge, Bruno Lafont ) appointed by the French. In this scenario, Bernard Fontana, who arrived in February 2012 as general manager at Holcim, disappeared from the landscape. Finally, Bruno Lafont could also disappear from the landscape because the renegotiation of the Governance aims specifically. Holcim does not want a directorate appointed by Lafarge, no more than equal to the board
Officially, no one speaks. Behind the scenes, the atmosphere is not to compromise, everyone seems to stick to its positions. The question is what are the real motives of this standoff. Holcim shareholders present to the board (less than 30% of capital) and its leaders (whose power is great, the capital is very fragmented) are they trying to get out of a merger they no longer want? Or request for a new balance of power is it a liar poker game to get the best possible merger parities, with the abandonment of their claims on governance? In the latter case, this would allow Lafarge as Holcim out head high renegotiations, each of which can claim to have been successful on a point.
A merger began in April 2014
Lafarge and Holcim were formalized in April their proposed merger” of equals “to form the future world leader in building materials with a combined turnover of over 30 billion euros and 130,000 employees.
Both groups then emphasized their complementary both geographically and in product offerings. What implementing an aggressive strategy to counter emerging countries giants. In early July, Lafarge and Holcim had urged made asset sales required to competition issues. And in December, the European Commission had notified its agreement to the merger, which was to be completed in the first half of 2015.
Benefits break
One thing is certain: whichever break the merger agreement of April 2014 would incur contractual indemnities breaking 350 million. The Stock Exchange takes the matter seriously, but not dramatically. Monday, she responded by pushing back 6.25% during the Lafarge, to 60.92 euros in a growing market (+ 0.98%) for general SBF 120). This is a reduction, but not a collapse. In Zurich, the price of Holcim, he yielded 1.33% to 74.45 Swiss francs.
No comments:
Post a Comment