By John Revill
ZURICH--Senior managers at Sika AG (SIK.VX) rejected on Friday
an offer to meet with the chief executive of France's Saint-Gobain
SA (SGO.FR), saying the proposed takeover could damage the Swiss
chemical maker.
In a two-page letter, the group of 120 managers refuted
Saint-Gobain's claim that its 2.75 billion Swiss franc ($2.98
billion) takeover is friendly, saying it didn't treat shareholders
fairly and could trigger an exodus of talent from the company.
"All stakeholders have raised concerns about the future of our
company, said the letter, which was addressed to Saint-Gobain CEO
Pierre-Andre de Chalendar said. "Such a planned transaction must be
clearly described as a hostile takeover."
The letter represents the latest ratcheting of tension in the
10-week-old battle for Sika, whose founding Burkard family is
trying to sell a holding company that controls its stake in the
Baar-based chemical maker to Saint-Gobain. Sika managers and board
members have said they weren't consulted on the deal before it was
announced.
Earlier this month, the Saint-Gobain CEO proposed a meeting to
"correct some of the misunderstandings" that Sika's management
voiced.
A spokeswoman at Saint-Gobain didn't respond to a request for
comment.
Sika's managers indicated Saint-Gobain was far from coming to an
agreement with the company.
"If you are not able to convince them that the planned takeover
will be in the best interest of all involved, many of them will
leave," reads the letter, which was seen by The Wall Street
Journal. "Currently you are far from the point of convincing
them."
-Write to John Revill at john.revill@wsj.com
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