Castorama presents counter-proposal

In a letter to shareholders Castorama head Jean-Hugues Loyez has submitted a counter-proposal in the event that Rothschilds bank declares that the offered share price of € 67 is too low. Should Kingfisher hive off its electrical retail activities as announced, to concentrate exclusively on DIY retailing, the company should allocate its holdings in Castorama Dubois Investissements to its shareholders. The legal form of a limited commercial partnership (Kommanditgesellschaft) should be relinquished in favour of a “more traditional” structure which would entail setting up an Anglo-French board (Conseil d’Administration) with a new chairman. What is more, the group must function under a new name. Yet again Loyez describes the price offered per share as insufficient. The offer is only eight per cent above last month’s average and eleven per cent above the average for the three months prior to its submission. In Kingfisher’s view, in contrast, the price of € 67 includes a mark-up of 20 per cent on the value of the shares prior to the speculative profits following the announcement of its intention to acquire the remaining shares.