Kingspan makes €229m offer for Nordic Waterproofing shares

Insulation specialist Kingspan has made a €228.8 million offer for Nordic Waterproofing, a month after it said it planned to buy the remaining shares in the company that it did not already own.

The company said it would pay 160 Swedish kroner (€13.85) per share in cash for a total purchase price of SEK2.66 billion.

The Cavan-based company last month announced its holding had increased above 30 per cent, and would submit an offer within 30 days under Swedish law. Kingspan was already the biggest shareholder in the company.

The offer values the company at SEK3.85 billion, with the per-share price a 14 per cent premium compared with the closing price of SEK140.6 that the Nordic Waterproofing shares had on the Nasdaq Stockholm on September 13th, before Kingspan announced it would make an offer. It was a 1.2 per cent discount on yesterday’s closing price for the shares.

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The offer acceptance period is expected to start on November 23rd and close on February 1st.

“We have admired Nordic Waterproofing for some time due to its strong product and service offering across the Nordic region. It is a complementary geographical fit with our expanding roofing and waterproofing division,” said Kingspan chief executive Gene Murtagh.

[ Hedge funds swarm into Kingspan’s Nordic target ]

“We will continue to develop the business regionally with an enhanced range of roofing solutions. It is a great validation of the attractiveness of our offer that so far several of the company’s larger shareholders have sold their shares to Kingspan. Remaining shareholders will now receive a mandatory offer at the same level.”

The company is not expected to change Nordic Waterproofing’s operations, management or employees following the offer.

The purchase will be funded by Kingspan’s own cash and credit facilities.

The deal would add significant scale to Kingspan’s roofing and waterproofing division and just over 3 per cent to group operating profit on a pro-forma full year basis, Davy analysts including Flor O’Donoghue wrote in a research note. “If we allow for the total acquisition of equity and Nordic Waterproofing’s net debt, we estimate the transaction would add a little under €350 million to Kingspan’s existing debt,” they added.