The Board of TietoEnator has today received the tender offer document from Cidron Services Oy regarding its public tender offer for all the outstanding shares and stock options in TietoEnator.
The offered price per share is 15.00 euros in cash after the dividend distribution decided at the Annual General Meeting of TietoEnator on 27 March 2008. The price offered for stock options is 0.01 euros per stock option payable in cash. Cidron Services is a company indirectly owned by the Fund VI of Nordic Capital, a Swedish private equity investor.
The offered price represents a 6.2% premium to the 6 months volume-weighted average price of the TietoEnator share and a 13.7% discount to the 12 months volume-weighted average price, up to the close on 19 March 2008, the day prior to the announcement of the offer from Cidron Services.
On 20 March 2008, the day of Cidron Services' offer announcement, the OMX Helsinki index closed at its lowest level since 6 November 2006. From 20 March 2008 to the close of yesterday, 31 March 2008, the OMX Helsinki index had increased 6.2%.
The completion of the offer is, among other things, subject to the offer being accepted by shareholders representing at least 90% of the shares, receipt of regulatory approvals and the financing required for the offer being available to Cidron at the completion of the offer. The offer period will commence on 2 April and will be closed on 28 April 2008.
The Board of TietoEnator will evaluate the offer thoroughly and analyze other alternatives available to TietoEnator and announce its statement and recommendation to shareholders in accordance with the Securities Market Act in due course before the offer period ends.
Says Matti Lehti, Chairman of the Board of TietoEnator: "While we will investigate the matter in detail, the offer document we now have received only confirms the preliminary view of the Board that the offer does not reflect the true value of TietoEnator and its revised strategy and the Performance Improvement Programme."