Clarins moves a step closer to delisting

A filing listed with the Authorite des Marches Financiers yesterday confirmed that the company will offer €55.50 a share for the 2.21 per cent of shares that remain outstanding following its public offer tendered on September 16.

The share offer for the squeeze out is the same as that for the initial offer, a sum that Clarins says represents a premium of around 30 per cent on the average share price over the three months prior to the June announcement that the company intended to delist.

That public offer left the company with 96.44 per cent of Clarins’ capital and 97.2 per cent of the voting rights, but the company needs to have total capital and voting rights if it is to proceed with the delisting from the Paris Bourse.

Investor speculation​

The company has been going through a difficult time in the past few years, having repeatedly been the target of investor speculation on the stock market, making the company’s share value volatile.

Clarins is one of the last remaining large scale independent beauty company in the industry, a position that has given rise to significant speculation over potential take-overs by larger players.

However, the Courtin- Clarins family has vowed to remain an independently owned family business, and says that the move to delist will help it to fulfill this ambition.

Delisting for better security​

It also says that delisting will help to avoid further potentially damaging speculation by investors and will also serve to provide for a more secure business environment for the company in the future.

Further adding to what is currently a difficult time, the company announced at the end of August that first half net profits were down by 34.6 per cent on account of currency exchange rates.

Net profits for the period fell from €36.7m to €24m, compared to the same period last year, while at constant exchange rates the figure was down by 13.8 per cent.