ZURICH: Danish logistics company DSV’s $4 billion-plus bid for Panalpina hit a roadblock on Monday when the Swiss freight forwarder’s top shareholder rejected the offer, saying Panalpina should stick to its own “consolidator strategy”.
Panalpina shares traded 8.2 per cent lower at 163.6 Swiss francs by 0940 GMT. They had risen more than a third this year on last month’s DSV offer initially pitched at 170 Swiss francs per share.
The snub by the Ernst Goehner Foundation, which owns nearly 46 per cent of Panalpina shares, marks the second time in the last few months that DSV Chief Executive Jens Bjorn Andersen has encountered resistance in Switzerland.
In October, CEVA Logistics rejected the Danes’ $1.55 billion (£1.19 billion) approach and subsequently deepened ties with French shipping company CMA CGM.
“We strongly believe that Panalpina can create more value for its shareholders, customers and employees through its consolidator strategy than the published non-binding purchase offer from DSV,” said Ernst Goehner Foundation board member Thomas Gutzwiller in a statement.
Another Panalpina owner stakeholder Cevian, has been pushing for the company to consider being bought out, amid its struggles in ocean freight, a delayed IT system and profitability and growth that have lagged rivals. — Reuters
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