Madison Dearborn and Powerflute in takeover talks
Finnish company Powerflute, 36% owned by Smurfit, has engaged in takeover talks with Madison Dearborn Partners, which made a preliminary offer.
Finnish packaging firm Powerflute announced it had received a preliminary proposal from US private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners regarding a possible offer for its entire share capital. Powerflute said it would evaluate the proposal which it is considering to accept. However, there could be no certainty that any formal offer would be made, the company explained.
The proposal valued Powerflute, which is listed on the AIM market in London, at about £255m (€353m).
Dermot Smurfit owns 15.6pc of the company, while Michael Smurfit’s Bacchantes investment vehicle owns 21.5pc.
Between them they would have stood to realise about £91m from the sale of the business. They would have been paid 79p per share with a 6p earn-out for their stakes
In a statement released this morning Powerflute said: “Following evaluation of the proposal by the independent members of the board of directors of Powerflute and consultations with certain major shareholders of Powerflute, the board of Powerflute has terminated discussions with Madison Dearborn.
The company said that the announcement had been made with the prior knowledge of Madison Dearborn.
Powerflute is a paper and packaging group which seeks to acquire businesses with strong fundamentals whose performance can be improved through a combination of management focus and targeted investment.
