There have been no major acquisitions of any listed companies in Estonia for a couple of years already. With the exception of Järvevana (2014), the latest acquisitions date back to the previous decade – Norma (2010), Estonian Telecom (2009), Saku Brewery(2008) etc. Also, considering the importance of OEG for the stock exchange and for minority shareholders (OEG has over 5000 minority shareholders), it is natural that the news of yesterday regarding the intended takeover bid of OEG has brought about lively reflections and comments on the subject.
Firstly, some initial observations.
It’s wise to take one’s time
In accordance with the press release of OEG, yesterday, i.e. on 19 March 2018 an application was filed with the Financial Supervisory Authority for approval of the takeover bid. The Financial Supervisory Authority is to grant its approval within 15 days, and OEG expects to obtain the approval on 4 April.
The approval will be made public together with the prospectus of the takeover bid which will describe the takeover bid and related matters in detail. One may get an idea of such a document and volume of the information on the basis of the previous prospectuses of takeover bids that can be accessed on the website of the Financial Supervisory Authority.
Minority shareholders will have about one month to make their decisions after the approval. OEG has stated that the bidding period will be 4 April – 2 May, which means that minority shareholders will have almost one and a half months from today to evaluate whether they wish to sell their shares or not.