Natascha Divac and Joern Ebberg From: Dow Jones Newswires October 06, 2010 9:05AM
IN an attempt to complicate a potential takeover, Hochtief has applied to ASIC to force its Spanish suitor to also bid for Leighton Holdings.
Spanish giant Actividades de Construccion y Servicios, or ACS, in mid-September said it aims to make a voluntary offer for the German construction company Hochtief.
But Hochtief has decided to make "an application for relief" to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which, if granted, would require ACS to make a further takeover offer for the outstanding shares in Leighton, Hochtief said in a press release.
Hochtief holds about a 54.5 per cent stake in Leighton.
Should Hochtief's application be approved, the takeover would be considerably more expensive for ACS. Leighton's market capitalization is around �7 billion ($10bn).
It is within ASIC's discretion to decide whether the relief is granted and whether ACS is required to make a takeover offer for Leighton, Hochtief said.
On September 16, ACS, Hochtief's biggest individual shareholder, said it planned to make a voluntary offer, offering eight ACS shares for five Hochtief shares, with the aim of full financial consolidation of the company.
ACS has repeatedly said its intentions for Hochtief are friendly. It said that while it plans to increase its stake from roughly 30 per cent, it isn't planning to wrest control of the company.
LEI Price at posting:
$34.01 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
