Following Airgas’ announcement yesterday, to “unanimously reject” Air Products revised tender offer – Air Products released a statement in response to the company’s decision.
Regular readers will be aware of the ongoing disagreement between the two American firms. Air Products denounced the yesterday’s tender revision rejection as the “latest value-destructive tactics in its continuing attempts to avoid an Airgas shareholder referendum on Air Products’ offer.”
Air Products further elucidated, “The Airgas Board is resorting to desperate last-minute gambits that should not distract the Airgas shareholders from the real choice they face at the September 15 Airgas Annual Meeting. Air Products is offering Airgas shareholders a premium of more than 50% for their shares today, and can close a deal quickly if the Airgas Board will agree to sit down and negotiate. There is no need for further delays possibly followed by a convoluted process that destroys value for the Airgas shareholders.” The US based company, continued to describe its grievances. Those interested in reading the full statement can access it via Air Products’ website.
Furthermore, today Air Products released a follow-up statement in which the company discussed the report of institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) on Air Products’ proposed acquisition of Airgas, Inc. This morning, the American company declared, “We appreciate ISS’s support for the Air products director nominees. The three independent nominees put forward by Air products are highly qualified and will add much-needed perspective to the incumbent Airgas Board, which we believe is opposed to a sale of Airgas at any price.”
The statement continued, “We are pleased that ISS supported three of our four proposals, but believe their recommendation against our proposal to hold the next Airgas Annual Meeting in January 2011 is a serious error that fails to recognize the option value for Airgas shareholders of this meeting. In our view, ISS, which has no money at risk on September 15, does not appreciate the economic benefits to Airgas shareholders of our January by-law proposal.”
As with the statement released on 8th September, a full statement can be accessed via Air Products’ corporate website.
www.airproducts.com
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