Cobham plc (LSE: COB) announced that they were behind a proposal given to the Board of Directors of Thrane & Thrane (OMXC: THRAN) in February. Cobham had been aiming to make a recommended offer for the company. Thrane & Thrane admitted that this was the issue referred to in the February 27 stock exchange release talking of unsolicitated interest in the company.
Cobham said it had been discussing with Thrane & Thrane’s board over the last year and had submitted a 420 DKK per share conditional offer subject to recommendation and support by the majority of Thrane & Thrane’s Board. Cobham said it regrets to note that Thrane & Thrane’s Board has felt unable to recommend its proposal and has therefore decided to withdraw it. Thrane & Thrane said in its release, that like it said on February 27th, it has started a strategic review of its options and expects to conclude that by May 14th.
The bid would have had an acceptance condition of merely 50.01%. Cobham retains the right to reconsider its position. The British company said that they had envisioned nice synergy benefits from combining its SATCOM business with Thrane & Thrane. They also said the aim would have been to continue to run Thrane & Thrane as an independent company under the current management.
Cobham, which is a large aerospace firm and a defence contractor, would like to have more exposure towards commercial market segments. Thrane & Thrane retreated over 7% to close at 371 DKK on the news. That is still far above where it started from on February 27th. Considering there are certain discrepancies in the releases from the two companies, it will be interesting to see what else is on the table.
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