Cimpor Slams CSN Takeover Bid

The board of Portuguese cement producer Cimpor recommends shareholders reject an offer by Brazil-based CSN to acquire the company for EUR5.75 a share, which values all of the outstanding equity at EUR3.86bn. Cimpor’s board prefaces a 66-page report posted on its website Thursday, with an impassioned plea for a dismissal of the overture, calling it “hostile, irrelevant and disruptive to its business activities.” The report claims CSN’s bid is flawed in that it lacks required information on financing, regulatory approval to conduct the process, and other critical information. Cimpor shares rose 1.06% on the Lisbon exchange to close at EUR6.50, leaving it with a market cap of EUR4.37bn. Separately, CSN says it is buying a 9.4% stake, or 802,069 shares, in flat steel manufacturer Panatlantica from LP Acos Comercio e Participacoes, also based in Brazil. It does not say how much it is paying for the stake. Panatlantica’s assets as of September 30 totaled BRL206m and it has a market cap of BRL120m, according to the Bovespa. On January 7, Panatlantica’s shares were up 15% at BRL14.