Conti attacks banks
German tyre maker Continental yesterday accused Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, Credit Suisse and Merrill Lynch of helping motoring rival Scaeffler Group build up a 36 per cent stake by stealth, giving it significant traction in its unsolicited €11.2bn (£8.9bn) bid for the firm.
Continental, which yesterday rejected the offer as too low, said that Schaeffler was trying to seize control of the firm in an “unlawful manner”.
Trade law in Germany requires any investor with a stake of 3 per cent or more in a listed firm to make their interest public. But, according to a source at Continental, Schaeffler and a consortium of nine investment banks – including those named above – each built up a 2.97 per cent stake without disclosing it.
These holdings, combined with Schaeffler’s own 2.97 per cent stake and derivatives it is entitled to, give the firm considerable voting rights. Schaefller, best known for making ball bearings, said that it was not necessarily interested in a full takeover of the firm and that it had no plans to take it into private ownership.
Under German law, an investor that controls more than 31 per cent of a company must offer to buy the remaining shares.
Schaeffler’s bid, which is equivalent to €69.37 a share, corresponds with the three month average of Continental’s shares – the lowest it can legally offer.