Recordati takeover bid finalised: CVC and GBL hold 74.58 per cent

The takeover bid by CVC and GBL for Recordati has been successful. Taking into account the shares already held by CVC and GBL, the bidders now control 74.58 per cent of the pharmaceutical group’s share capital, a threshold which, even before the reopening of the offer period from 3 to 9 November, gives them full control of the extraordinary general meeting and, looking ahead, allows the company to be delisted through a reverse merger with the parent company. It remains to be seen, once the offer period has reopened, whether – having achieved the objective of gaining control – the takeover bid will take CVC and GBL beyond the 90 per cent threshold that would allow the company to be delisted from the Milan Stock Exchange.

Even after the bid put forward by CVC and GBL through the vehicle Respighi BidCo was raised to 53 euros, some fund shareholders, including Palliser, had urged the other shareholders not to accept the takeover bid. This appeal did not alter the outcome of the deal: the voluntary full takeover bid launched by Respighi for 198,525,562 ordinary shares in Recordati saw subscriptions totalling 129,976,365 shares tendered, equivalent to 65.4 per cent of the shares covered by the bid. To this figure must be added the stake already held, resulting in a final total of 74.58 per cent of the share capital, excluding treasury shares.