Denmark's Chr. Hansen Not A Takeover Candidate - CEO

Danish food ingredients and enzymes producer Chr. Hansen Holding A/S (CHR.KO), which raised its guidance for the 2010/2011 fiscal year in connection with its first-quarter report Wednesday, said there is no reason for viewing the company as a target for acquisition in the wake of DuPont's (DD) takeover offer for Danish food ingredients firm Danisco A/S (DCO.KO).

"If we were to be taken over, I would have suspected potential suitors to call our private equity owners six months ago before the listing. It would have been 35% cheaper since we have increased our value by 35% since then. And it would have been much easier to make an acquisition then, rather than buying a public company," Chief Executive Lars Fredriksen told Dow Jones Newswires, though he added:

"On the other hand, everything is for sale. So we have to remain pragmatic about that. But I don't think we are going to change the route we are on."

Private equity fund PAI Partners took Chr. Hansen private in July 2005. In June 2010, PAI Partners reintroduced Chr. Hansen in an initial public offering on the Copenhagen stock exchange, still retaining about 55% of the shares.

Fredriksen said there is no reason to suspect that there is a premium on the Chr. Hansen shares in connection with media speculation about Chr. Hansen as a possible takeover candidate.

In its first quarter report, Chr. Hansen said full-year revenue is expected to grow organically by 11%-13%, up from a previous estimate of 8%-10%. Its first-quarter net profit rose to EUR23 million from EUR11.1 million in the same period a year earlier.

At 1045 GMT shares were up 0.5% or DKK0.60 at DKK120.70.

-By Jens Hansegard, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]