Insulation giant Kingspan Group said it now controls more than 90 per cent of Sweden-based Nordic Waterproofing and plans to squeeze out remaining shareholders in the company in which it first bought shares in 2022.
Passing the key threshold will allow the Cavan-based listed company to initiate compulsory redemption proceedings to buy all remaining shares, in accordance with Swedish law.
The group’s stake currently stands at 92 per cent.
Kingspan, led by chief executive Gene Murtagh, made a mandatory takeover offer for Nordic Waterproofing in October 2023 after its stake passed 30 per cent. However, a number of investors refused to sell.
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The Irish group moved again four weeks ago to offer to buy out the holdouts, with an offer that was 7 per cent higher than the prevailing price for the shares on the stock market – valuing the entire Nordic Waterproofing business at about €400 million in total.
Nordic makes products that waterproof roofs and buildings and which protect structures from the weather.
It employs about 1,300 people in factories in Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Norway and Sweden and sells its products throughout northern Europe.
Nordic’s revenues last year were about €360 million and operating profits came in at €24 million, according to an analysis by Dublin stockbroker Davy.
Kingspan said it will go about delisting Nordic Waterproofing’s shares from Nasdaq Stockholm in due course.
