Dutch Court Backs Akzo Nobel in Dispute With Elliott Management
29 Maio 2017 - 03:03PM
Dow Jones News
By Natalia Drozdiak and Ben Dummett
U.S. activist investor Elliott Management Corp. lost a legal
battle Monday to try to remove Akzo Nobel NV's chairman, heaping
pressure on PPG Industries Inc. to make a hostile bid for the rival
Dutch paint and chemicals giant or abandon its monthslong takeover
pursuit.
Earlier this month, Elliott took Akzo to court in the
Netherlands to force Akzo to hold a special shareholder meeting on
the dismissal of Antony Burgmans. Akzo, citing Dutch law,
previously rejected the shareholder request for such a meeting.
Elliott claimed that Mr. Burgmans failed to "discharge his
fiduciary and corporate governance duties" after the
Amsterdam-based company rejected PPG's latest, sweetened offer of
EUR24.6 billion ($29.49 billion) without first attempting to
negotiate a deal.
Akzo, which supports Mr. Burgmans, argues its stand-alone
strategy to boost dividend payouts and spin off its specialty
chemicals business and return the bulk of the proceeds to
shareholders will generate more value. In defending its position,
the paint maker has said its actions have met the highest standards
of corporate governance in the Netherlands and complied with Dutch
law.
Siding with Akzo, the Dutch business court rejected Elliott's
request to allow for the vote to take place. The court said Akzo
had analyzed PPG's bids "seriously" and that the dismissal of the
company's chairman is a matter of strategy, which is for the
management and supervisory board to decide -- not the
shareholders.
Elliott can appeal the decision to the Dutch Supreme Court.
Write to Natalia Drozdiak at natalia.drozdiak@wsj.com and Ben
Dummett at ben.dummett@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 29, 2017 13:48 ET (17:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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