The main shareholder wants to increase its stake in Klöckner & Co.
(Photo: Friedhelm Loh Group)
Dusseldorf The Hessian family entrepreneur Friedhelm Loh wants to increase its stake in Europe’s largest independent steel trader, Klöckner & Co (KlöCo), to more than 30 percent. To this end, his holding Swoctem published a voluntary takeover bid to the remaining shareholders on Monday. However, Loh does not want to take over the majority. The stock exchange listing should remain in place.
“We fundamentally welcome the fact that Friedhelm Loh supports us and the board of directors as a long-term shareholder,” said a spokesman for KlöCo on request. The entrepreneur had previously held more than 25 percent of the shares. As a long-standing member of the Supervisory Board, Loh underscores the Group’s strategy with the offer.
The steel trader did not want to comment on the offered price of EUR 9.75 per share. “We are reviewing the offer documents and will comment on this at a later date,” it said.
The 76-year-old is one of the best-known family entrepreneurs in German industry. In addition to 89 other subsidiaries, his group of companies also includes the Rittal company from Haiger in Hesse, which manufactures control cabinets and power distributors.
At EUR 9.75 per share, Loh is only offering a small premium on the share price, which was EUR 9.31 before the offer. On Monday, the titles listed in the SDax climbed to more than ten euros after the announcement. Overall, Klöckner & Co is valued at EUR 973 million in the offer.
As a long-term investor, Loh wants to permanently strengthen “Klöckner & Co’s position as a producer-independent steel and metal distributor and steel service company in international competition”, the entrepreneur explained to the Reuters news agency. “The aim is for the company to be able to face the macroeconomic environment, which is characterized by numerous challenges, on a legally and economically stable basis.”
Klöckner & Co recently achieved annual sales of 9.4 billion euros with an operating profit of 417 million euros. Loh had already considered a takeover together with the US financial investor Apollo in 2020, but rejected the plan. The second largest shareholder is drugstore entrepreneur Dirk Roßmann.
If a shareholder exceeds the participation threshold of 30 percent in a company, he usually has to make a mandatory offer to the other shareholders to buy their shares. With the voluntary offer, which is to be officially submitted at the end of March, Loh avoids the mandatory offer for KlöCo.
However, Loh has hedged against a fall in the stock market: if the SDax falls by more than 15 percent, the offer will be withdrawn.
With agency material
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