The large Slovenian bank NLB has failed with its takeover bid for the Austrian Addiko Bank, the NLB announced in a press release on Tuesday. The NLB offered shareholders 22 euros per share. However, the large bank aimed from the start for a qualified majority stake and a minimum acceptance threshold of 75 percent of the Addiko shares.
At the end of the offering period, only 36.39 percent had been deposited with the payment and settlement agent. It was clear from the start that the minimum acceptance threshold was an obstacle: the free float of Addiko Bank, which emerged from the Hypo-Alpe-Adria-Balkan banks, is only good for 49.2 percent.
Major player in the Balkans
The largest shareholders include Serbian companies Alta Pay and Diplomat Pay, which together hold 19.62 percent of Addiko Bank. The ECB has therefore stated that voting rights attached to these shares will be suspended for the time being. There are also some institutional investors, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
“The offer will therefore not be considered and the offer will not be extended in accordance with article 3 paragraph 3 of the Takeover Act,” NLB announced on Tuesday evening. Addiko’s board found NLB’s offer financially attractive and spoke out with the shareholders in favor of the offer.
Bidding duel for Addiko
NLB was not the only bidder for the Addiko shares, however: Agri Europe Cyprus, which is attributed to Serbian businessman Miodrag Kostić, also made a bid. However, it only offered 16.24 euros per share to increase its stake in Addiko Bank from the current 9.99 percent to 27 percent.
“NLB is failing because of itself,” said Florian Beckermann, board member of the investors’ association, commenting on the result. “The offer was discouraged, now that the receipt is delivered with only 36.39 percent of the offered shares of the intended 75 percent: on the one hand, it was not attractive enough to be economically convincing, but on the other hand, NLB did not want to step into the ring with other minority shareholders,” Beckermann added.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
