Reinsurer Scor’s CEO defends rejection of Covea bid
(Reuters) — Scor SE Chief Executive Denis Kessler has rejected an attempt by activist investor CIAM to get the French company to hold talks with rival Covea on its €8.2 billion ($9.65 billion) takeover offer.
Scor has rejected Covea’s bid, but CIAM, which owns a 0.77% stake in Scor, last week pressured Kessler to open talks with Covea and threatened legal action.
“Your accusations are baseless, misleading and deceptive,” Mr. Kessler said in a letter responding to Catherine Berjal, CIAM’s president.
He said he was acting on behalf of long-term shareholders and not short-term speculators like CIAM.
CIAM has backed Covea’s takeover plan, which offered a 21% premium to Scor’s share price prior to the disclosure of the proposal.
Covea, which already owns about 8.5% of Scor, offered to pay €43 per Scor share, valuing the whole company at €8.2 billion. Scor’s shares ended Monday 1% percent higher at €39.58.
Ms. Berjal, CIAM’s co-founder, declined to respond immediately to a Reuters’ request to comment, but said she would send Mr. Kessler an answer in the coming days.
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French reinsurer Scor rejects takeover bid, shares jump
(Reuters) — Shares of French reinsurer Scor SE surged on Tuesday after its board turned down a friendly takeover offer from privately held insurance company Covea, with investors anticipating that a higher bid would materialize.
