The tender offer for the CL Financial company which is incorporated under the laws of Jamaica and listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, is being made via Campari Espana SL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Davide Campari-Milano SpA.
Campari CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz said: ‘With the launch of the tender offer we have made an important step towards the successful closing of the acquisition of Lascelles deMercado, which is expected to occur at the beginning of December 2012. We are excited about the opportunity to acquire the iconic brands of the Lascelles deMercado Group and a strong distribution organisation for spirits and general merchandise, which we both see as strategic assets that we intend to develop further”.
The tender offer expires on November 30, 2012, unless further extended. The tender offer price is US$4.32 per ordinary share and US$ 0.57 per preferred share in the capital of Lascelles deMercado
Gruppo Campari intents to delist Lascelles deMercado shares from Jamaican Stock Exchange after closing of the tender offer and commence compulsory acquisition of remaining shares not tendered in the offer.
As announced on September 3, Gruppo Campari has entered into a stock purchase agreement with members of the CL Financial Limited group of companies, holding approximately 81.4% of the issued ordinary shares and 97% of the issued preferred shares in the capital of Lascelles. Campari has also gained agreement to buy approximately 9.3% of the remaining issued ordinary shares.
Upon acquiring 90% of each class of outstanding Lascelles shares, Campari will exercise its right pursuant to a statutory process under Jamaican law to acquire all the remaining shares, including from those shareholders who have not accepted the offer.
Gruppo Campari says the acquisition of Lascelles is a “significant step in the development of Gruppo Campari into a leading international spirits player. It positions Gruppo Campari to exploit key global consumption trends, further boosts its internationalisation, significantly growing the business outside of Italy, and strengthens its largest business, the spirits segment”.
