BF, Vecchioni and Dompé launch 666 million euro takeover bid

Arum and Dompé Holdings, respectively the two companies headed by Federico Vecchioni and Sergio Dompé, have announced a voluntary, all-share voluntary tender offer for all of BF's ordinary shares (including treasury shares held by the issuer), less the shares already held by the bidders as of today's date.

Specifically, the offer relates to a maximum of 133,242,020 shares, representing 50.878% of the issuer's share capital less 24.147% of Arum and 24.975% of Dompé Holdings.

Bidders will pay a cash consideration of EUR 5, which implies a premium of 13.8 per cent over the closing price on 20 April for a total maximum outlay of EUR 666m.

The offer is not aimed at delisting, but at 'increasing the respective stakes held in the share capital of the issuer and crystallising certain governance profiles of BF, also in order to ensure the stability of its ownership structure, further investing in the growth and development' of the company.

The consolidation of the shareholdings, it is further explained, is functional 'to strengthen the cohesion of the reference shareholding structure and to provide the issuer, also through the stipulation of the shareholders' agreement, with a cohesive ownership base, suitable to support the implementation of the medium-long term strategic and industrial plans'.