“An ever growing number of Sika shareholders are actively opposing Saint-Gobain's plans to take control of the company in a hostile takeover,” said a statement issued on Friday by the Sika board. “Only ten weeks after Saint-Gobain's intentions became public, shareholders representing more than half of Sika's capital have explicitly declared their support for the course adopted by the board of directors and management of Sika.”
The takeover is supported by the Burkard family, which holds a controlling stake in the company despite only owning 16% of the share capital (link opens in new tab).
“Together these investors hold more than three times as much capital as the Burkard family's Schenker-Winker Holding,” said the Sika board statement. “In addition to well known institutional investors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Fidelity Worldwide or Threadneedle Investments, 22 Swiss pension funds and countless private investors support the Board of Directors and Group Management in their approach. The huge, constantly growing backing of shareholders and other important stakeholders is strengthening Sika management in its resolve. The board of directors and group management will continue to protect and defend the legitimate interests of all Sika stakeholders.”
The statement concluded: “Since Saint-Gobain's declared aim is to exert full control over Sika despite holding just 16 percent of its capital, the planned hostile takeover jeopardizes these interests. It would also result in huge conflicts of interests, for example because Saint-Gobain competes directly with Sika in the mortar business.”
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