Sika: Management Rejects Saint-Gobain Offer to Meet Over Takeover

   By John Revill 
 

ZURICH--Senior managers at Sika AG (SIK.VX) rejected on Friday an offer to meet with the chief executive of France's Saint-Gobain SA (SGO.FR), saying the proposed takeover could damage the Swiss chemical maker.

In a two-page letter, the group of 120 managers refuted Saint-Gobain's claim that its 2.75 billion Swiss franc ($2.98 billion) takeover is friendly, saying it didn't treat shareholders fairly and could trigger an exodus of talent from the company.

"All stakeholders have raised concerns about the future of our company, said the letter, which was addressed to Saint-Gobain CEO Pierre-Andre de Chalendar said. "Such a planned transaction must be clearly described as a hostile takeover."

The letter represents the latest ratcheting of tension in the 10-week-old battle for Sika, whose founding Burkard family is trying to sell a holding company that controls its stake in the Baar-based chemical maker to Saint-Gobain. Sika managers and board members have said they weren't consulted on the deal before it was announced.

Earlier this month, the Saint-Gobain CEO proposed a meeting to "correct some of the misunderstandings" that Sika's management voiced.

A spokeswoman at Saint-Gobain didn't respond to a request for comment.

Sika's managers indicated Saint-Gobain was far from coming to an agreement with the company.

"If you are not able to convince them that the planned takeover will be in the best interest of all involved, many of them will leave," reads the letter, which was seen by The Wall Street Journal. "Currently you are far from the point of convincing them."

-Write to John Revill at [e-mail]

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