Elliott Management Opposes GE's Offer for German 3-D Printer Maker SLM
October 20 2016 - 9:00PM
Dow Jones News
Hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. threw up a late obstacle
Thursday to General Electric Co.'s attempt to acquire SLM Solutions
Group AG, a maker of 3-D printing machines, saying it would oppose
GE's tender offer for shares in the German company.
Elliott and its affiliates, which are controlled by billionaire
investor Paul Singer, said GE's offer is "not in the best interests
of SLM shareholders." The companies said they would reject the
current terms of GE's offer.
A GE spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Elliott says it owns more than 20% of the outstanding shares of
SLM, which GE hopes to acquire, along with shares of Swedish firm
Arcam AB, for a combined $1.4 billion. The acquisition is part of
GE's push into additive manufacturing, which the conglomerate hopes
one day will yield benefits across its portfolio of industrial
businesses.
In the offer for Sweden's Arcam, GE had to extend the offer
period after failing to draw a sufficient percentage of Arcam
shareholders to accept its offer for their shares. GE said it had
acquired a little more than 40% of the company's shares when the
offer period expired Oct. 14. The extension goes to Nov. 1.
The opposition from Elliott comes on the eve of Friday's
deadline for GE to sweeten its tender offer to SLM shareholders,
extend the deadline to accept the tender or hold steady. If GE
doesn't extend the deadline or raise its price, the tender will end
Monday.
If shareholders have tendered 75% or more of SLM's shares, GE is
obligated to complete the transaction, according to public filings.
If not, the company can walk away from the deal, which is a
possibility if GE can secure only a minority stake in the machine
maker despite offering a substantial premium for its shares.
SLM's management earlier this month unanimously endorsed GE's
offer of 38 euro a share, which the company said at the time was a
37% premium.
Write to Ted Mann at ted.mann@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 20, 2016 20:45 ET (00:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024