Greiner Plans Recticel Bid Valuing Firm at $915 Million

By Aaron Kirchfeld May 14, 2021, 8:37 AM EDT Corrected May 14, 2021, 3:59 PM EDT

Greiner AG, an Austrian plastics maker, is preparing a takeover offer for Recticel SA valuing the Belgian foam company at about 754 million euros ($915 million), a person with knowledge of the matter said.

Greiner is buying Cie. du Bois Sauvage SA’s 27% stake in the company for 13.50 euros per share and plans to offer the same price to other investors, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The Austrian firm is seeking a majority stake in Recticel and aims to keep its listing on the Euronext Brussels exchange, the person said.

It’s seeking to gain acceptances from shareholders holding at least 50% of the company’s voting rights plus one share, according to the person.

Recticel shares have risen 41% in Brussels trading this year, giving the company a market value of 844 million euros. The planned offer represents a 10.7% discount to Recticel’s closing price of 15.12 euros on Thursday, when the shares rallied 14%.

Cie. du Bois Sauvage and Recticel were both halted from trading on Friday, pending statements. Representatives for Greiner, Cie. du Bois Sauvage and Recticel didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Recticel makes foams for everything from construction to bedding and automotive. The company has received takeover interest before. In 2019, the Belgian company rejected an offer from Irish insulation maker Kingspan Group Plc for just two of its units. At the time, it signaled it would be open to considering an offer for the whole company.

Greiner and Recticel have been working together for decades. They formed a joint venture in 1992 called Eurofoam, which makes flexible foams. The Austrian company agreed to buy out the venture last year.

Recticel agreed in March to acquire the thermal PIR insulation board business of Poland’s Gor-Stal Sp. z o.o for 30 million euros including debt. Later that month, it completed its purchase of Conzzeta AG’s FoamPartner unit for an enterprise value of 270 million Swiss francs ($300 million).

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-14/greiner-said-to-eye-recticel-bid-after-buying-bois-sauvage-stake