The board of directors of CIP notes the announcement made at 4.25 p.m. on 14 January 2022 by Corporation Financière Européenne S.A. (CFE) regarding a mandatory cash offer (under Rule 9 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers), for all of CIP’s ordinary shares not already held by CFE. The offer price is 55p per share.
The board notes that CFE has previously made a number of approaches to the company, including via a letter dated 28 September 2020 and a subsequent approach on 2 December 2020, in relation to a possible offer subsequently announced by CFE on 26 January 2021 at a price of 50p per share. The board rejected that offer on the grounds that it was “opportunistic” and significantly undervalued CIP’s investment portfolio. Since then, the NAV has increased by about 17.2%.
The board further notes that the offer price represents a significant discount of approximately 37.2% to CIP’s latest weekly unaudited NAV (87.6p) and a premium of only 7.8% to the closing mid-market price of 51p at the close of business on 13 January 2022.
It is also the minimum level under Rule 9 that CFE could pay – no less than the highest price paid by CFE (or any persons acting in concert with it) for any ordinary share during the 12 month period prior to the date of its offer announcement.
The board will consult with its adviser Strand Hanson Limited, and revert in due course.
CIP : CIP Merchant Capital gets new bid approach