Ercros soars after Esseco launches competing takeover bid
28/06/2024 11:15
** Shares in Ercros ECR.MC jump 12% after Italy-based
Esseco Industrial launched a competing bid for all shares of the
Spanish chemical company
** Esseco is offering 3.84 euros per Ercros share, exceeding
by 6.7% an earlier bid from Portuguese industrial group Bondalti
that had offered 3.6 euros per share in March
** "Excellent timing for both bids," says Jose Ramon Ocina,
a senior analyst at Mirabaud Securities, noting the sector is
"depressed", as seen in Ercros' 2024 delivery
** However, he says the price is still low; "In view of the
undemanding multiples and the potential for synergies, we expect
both contenders to improve their respective TOBs' prices"
** In a separate filing to the Spanish market regulator
following the bid, Ercros said its business would continue to be
managed diligently
** The Ercros stock, up 48% YTD, is on track for its biggest
single-day rise since March 5, when Bondalti launched its offer
(Reporting by Jakub Olesiuk)
((jakub.olesiuk@thomsonreuters.com))