Finnish Atria also wants to buy Swedish Meats

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The Swedish meat packing company Swedish Meats considers a buyout proposal by the Finnish Atria to be a hostile takeover bid.
      Earlier this month Swedish Meats had agreed to be absorbed by another Finnish meat processing company, HK Ruokatalo. Swedish Meats CEO Magnus Lagergren told Reuters News Agency that the company wants to stick to the deal it made with HK.
      Atria made its competing bid for the meat processing operations of Swedish Meats on Tuesday, offering cash and shares worth a net 1.3 billion krona, or about EUR 144 million.
      Swedish Meats and HK Ruokatalo have planned to finalise their deal in January.
     
If Atria’s bid is accepted, Swedish Meats would become a significant shareholder in Atria, with a 10.8 per cent holding in the Finnish company.
      Also, in Atria’s bid, Swedish Meats would retain control of its slaughterhouse, and meat cutting operations.
      Atria is offering 815 million krona in cash for Swedish Meats, as well as 2.3 million new privileged A-shares, as well as 396,000 new unlisted K II shares with voting rights.
      In addition, Atria is ready to invest in the slaughterhouse and meat cutting operations of the Swedish company to the tune of 20 per cent.
     
HK Ruokatalo offered EUR 113 for Swedish Meats. Of this, EUR 60 million would be in cash, and the rest in HK Ruokatalo shares.
      In addition, HK Ruokatalo offered to take responsibility for EUR 185 million of Swedish Meats debt. The deal would make HK Ruokatalo the Swedish market leader in the field.
      HK CEO Kai Seikku said in an interview with the Finnish News Agency STT that HK had agreed with the Swedish company on exclusive rights to bring the deal before the shareholders of Swedish Meats.
      "There will be no other bids alongside ours. The bid by our competitor also cannot be compared with ours, as it concerns only part of the company."


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Record number of corporate deals in Europe this year (15.11.2006)
  Finnish HK Ruokatalo to purchase Swedish Meats for EUR 113 million (10.11.2006)

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