Brussels – Belgian foamer Recticel, which is at the centre of an unsolicited offer from boardmaker Kingspan, says it needs more information to respond.
In a statement released at 07:00 CET today, Recticel said the offer is 'lacking a number of critical information items to allow its board of directors to make an informed decision'.
Recticel described Kingspan's offer as 'unsolicited and non-binding'.
In particular, the Belgian company wants to know how Kingspan plans to mitigate the antitrust risks associated with its offer. Recticel also wants to know who the third-party that could buy the flexible business is.
Finally, the Belgian company wants to know what the tax situation of its shareholders would be when the terms of the offer is fully disclosed.
• Antitrust will be a major part of whether the deal could be passed by regulators in Europe. According to data underlying the most recent UTECH Rigid Foam Europe 2018 map, Recticel had four sites in Europe: Wevelgem, Belgium; Bourges, France; Sostanji, Slovenia; and Stoke-on-Trent, UK. The only country on that list where Kingspan does not have a factory is in Slovenia.
Kingspan has a total of 19 foaming plants across Europe.
| Kingspan and Recticel Geographical overlaps in rigid foam | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Town | Country | Distance approximate (km) |
| Kingspan | Leuze-en-Hainaut | Belgium 1 | 45 |
| Kingspan | Glossop | UK2 | 60 |
| Kingspan | Holywell | UK2 | 83 |
| Kingspan | Leominster | UK2 | 110 |
| Kingspan | Turnhout | Belgium 1 | 145 |
| Kingspan | Klundert | The Netherlands 1 | 159 |
| Kingspan | Sandy | UK2 | 170 |
| 1 Distance from Recticel plant at Wevelgem | |||
| 2 Distance from Recticel plant at Stoke on Trent | |||
| Source: UTECH Rigid foam Europe Map 2018 data, google maps | |||
