Uniper Recommends That Shareholders Reject Fortum's Offer
21 November 2017 - 8:09AM
Dow Jones News
By Nathan Allen
Germany's Uniper SE (UN01.XE) on Tuesday recommended that its
shareholders reject the 8.05 billion euro ($9.46 billion) takeover
bid from Finnish energy provider Fortum Oyj (FORTUM.HE).
Uniper's management and supervisory boards said they don't think
Fortum's offer is in the company's best interests. The bid doesn't
reflect Uniper's true value or propose any strategic benefit, the
company said.
"The offer document also does not clearly state what Fortum's
true intentions are," added Klaus Schaefer, Uniper's chief
executive.
The board said that it wasn't satisfied with Fortum's position
on the future of Uniper's facilities and employees.
Uniper was formed when German utility E.ON SE (EOAN.XE) spun off
its conventional energy operations.
E.ON has since committed to selling its remaining 47% stake in
Uniper to Fortum.
"The company has performed exceptionally well since becoming
independent, is financially sound and makes a significant
contribution to the security of supply with gas and power in
Europe," said Bernhard Reutersberg, chairman of Uniper's
supervisory board.
Write to Nathan Allen at nathan.allen@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 21, 2017 02:54 ET (07:54 GMT)
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