Robertet: reinforcing its independance
by getting rid of a minority shareholder which was also a competitor
Big news concerning Robertet which announced that DSM Firmenich sold most of its stake (shares and investment certificates) to Fonds Stratégiques de Participations (FSP) and to Peugot Invest. DSM Firmenich still holds a 1,1% stake.
So the previous unwanted minority sharehlders (Givaudan an DSM Firmenich) are quitting and selling out. Different explanations to that (but I could be wrong!):
Firmenich has since its initial acquisition in 2019 (they had acquired their initial stake from First Eagle as First Eagle had to sell due to some special regulation issues in the US whih made it more difficult for a US Fund to hold significant stakes in foreign copanies), merged with DSM in 2022 to form DSM Firmenich. In other words, Firmenich was previously a family held company which was going towards more a more natural flavours offering. When merging with DSM (which is nutrition specialist), Firmenich lost in my opinion their unique touch and being part of a bigger group the utility of the Robertet holding must have been studied and led to the current sale. When family controlled companies lose their family dimenssion it is always a bit of a pity. But this is how thing are.
Givaudan had a smaller stake (acquired in 2020 a couple of months after Firmenich acquired its stake…) and it is trimming it down (and will probably sell all of it). As a reminder they bought their stake after Firmenich. One can sense that it was more a reaction. Historically, Givaudan always made the first moves and always beat Firmenich in M&A transactions.
Both Firmenich and Givaudan must have realized that the Maubert were not willing to sale. Indeed, the tender offer in 2022 enabled the Maubert to cash out the family members who were not interested in staying shareholders.
With that all said, the question is what are the things that we can’t see with this offer and which give us interesting insights: