Canon's Bid For Océ May Be Blocked
January 14, 2010 - Business Week and Bloomberg News are reporting that Canon Inc.’s $1.1 billion bid for Océ NV may be in jeopardy. According to Bloomberg, a group of investors holding 13 percent of the Dutch printer/copier company said they won’t sell their shares, while a group representing about 200 investors said that Canon's offer was too low. In November 2009, Canon agreed to purchase Océ for approximately 730 million Euros ($1.1 billion), or 8.60 Euros per share, which is 70 percent higher than Océ last closing share price. For its part, Océ, which is based in Venlo, the Netherlands, reported a net loss of 23 million Euros for its 2009 fourth quarter.
More details:
- On January 11, 2009, Hermes Focus Asset Management Ltd., which own 3.3 percent of Océ's shares, stated it won’t sell its shares, calling the Canon offer “meager.”
- Orbis Funds, which owns about 10 percent of Océ, rejected Canon’s bid in November 2009.
- Investor group VEB, which represented 211 shareholders with about 0.003 percent of Océ, stated at its last shareholders meeting that it also felt Canon's bid was too low.
In November 2009, Canon agreed to buy Océ, the world’s largest maker of wide-format printers, for about 730 million Euros ($1.1 billion) in cash. Canon said in November that it would pay 8.60 Euros a share, or 70 percent higher than Océ's last closing price. The acquisition would strengthen Canon's market presence in North America and Europe, and strengthen Océ's presence in Asia.
The enter story can be read http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-12/canon-s-oce-bid-may-be-in-jeopardy-as-some-shareholders-balk.html.
Reports are that Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. of Japan has no interest in outbidding Canon and acquiring Océ.
Rokus van Iperen, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, commented on Océ's fourth-quarter results, noting, "Our revenues continued to decline in the fourth quarter as customers remained uncertain about the economic situation and sustained their efforts to reduce costs. Towards the end of the year, we saw some bottoming out in the sales of continuous-feed systems in the United States." The full Océ financial report can be accessed here http://investor.oce.com/default.aspx.