Tender offer for DOUGLAS HOLDING AG:
Over 95 percent of shares attained
Frankfurt am Main, 20 December 2012 – The DOUGLAS founding family Kreke and Advent
International today announced that Beauty Holding Three AG has attained a 95.33 percent shareholding in DOUGLAS HOLDING AG during the additional acceptance period.
So far, 31,687,876 shares had been tendered under the voluntary public tender offer to Beauty Holding Three AG, a holding company indirectly held in part by funds advised by Advent International and in part by the Kreke family. Together with the 12.73 percent shareholding acquired by Lobelia Beteiligungs GmbH (the Kreke family), this makes up a total shareholding of 93.09 percent. In addition, Beauty Holding Three AG made share purchases outside the tender offer totaling a further 2.24 percent.
The additional acceptance period ends at midnight CET on 21 December 2012. Until then, DOUGLAS shareholders who have not yet accepted the offer can tender their shares for the offer price of EUR 38 per share in cash.
At 95 percent, Beauty Holding Three AG has reached the size of shareholding needed to make a request for a squeeze-out of the remaining shareholders in DOUGLAS HOLDING AG in accordance with the provisions of the German Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act (WpÜG). DOUGLAS shareholders who have not accepted the tender offer by 21 December 2012 can therefore tender their shares for the price of EUR 38 per share in cash during a further acceptance period ending at midnight CET on 20 March 2013. Further details of this further acceptance period can be obtained from the announcement published today at www.douglas-offer.com as well as from the offer document.
Ranjan Sen, General Manager of Advent International GmbH in Frankfurt: 'We are delighted with the highly positive response on the offer and look forward to continuing our cooperation with the Kreke family as well as the management and the employees of the DOUGLAS Group.'
Further information on the public tender offer may be accessed on www.douglas-offer.com.
About DOUGLAS HOLDING AG
With annual sales of more than EUR 3 billion, the DOUGLAS Group ranks amongst the leading European retailers. As a company listed in the MDAX the DOUGLAS Group represents 'Excellence in Retailing' – with outstanding service, top quality products, an experiential store ambiance, and the friendliest employees in the business. The Group's five retail divisions – Douglas perfumeries, Thalia bookstores, Christ jewelry stores, AppelrathCüpper fashion stores, and Hussel confectioneries – are among the market leaders and trendsetters in their respective sectors. The more than 24,000 employees provide a high level of service in the 1,900 specialty stores. In its state-of-the-art online shops the DOUGLAS Group also offers its outstanding service on the Internet.
For further information please go to www.douglas-holding.com.
About Advent International
Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the world's leading global buyout firms, with offices in 16 countries on four continents. Advent International is advised on investments in Germany by Advent International GmbH, Frankfurt. A driving force in international private equity for more than 28 years, Advent International has built an unparalleled global platform of over 170 investment professionals across Western and Central Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on international buyouts, strategic repositioning opportunities and growth buyouts in five core sectors, working actively with management teams to drive revenue growth and earnings improvements in portfolio companies. Since inception, Advent International has raised EUR 28 billion (USD 37 billion) in private equity capital and, through its buyout programmes, has completed 279 transactions in 35 countries.
For further information please go to www.adventinternational.com.
Important legal information / Disclaimer
This announcement is neither an offer to purchase nor an invitation to submit for sale the shares of DOUGLAS HOLDING AG. The terms and conditions of the takeover offer as well as other provisions pertaining to the takeover offer are solely governed by the offer document which is published in the internet under http://www.douglas-offer.com. The terms and conditions of the takeover offer may differ from the general information described here. It is urgently recommended that investors and owners of shares of DOUGLAS HOLDING AG ('Douglas Shareholders') read the entire offer document and all documents connected with the takeover offer, because they contain important information.
This announcement contains specific forward-looking statements. These statements do not represent facts and are characterised by words such as 'expect', 'believe', 'estimate', 'intend', 'aim', 'assume' or similar expressions. Such statements express the intentions, opinions or current expectations of Beauty Holding Three AG (the 'Bidder') and persons acting in concert with the Bidder pursuant to Section 2 para. 5 sentence 1 and sentence 3 of WpÜG with respect to possible future events, e.g., regarding the possible consequences of the takeover offer for DOUGLAS HOLDING AG, for those DOUGLAS Shareholders who choose not to accept the takeover offer or for future financial results of DOUGLAS HOLDING AG. Such forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates and forecasts which the Bidder and the persons acting in concert with the Bidder pursuant to section 2 para. 5 sentence 1 and sentence 3 of WpÜG have made to the best of their knowledge, but which do not claim to be correct in the future. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and generally cannot be influenced by the Bidder and persons acting in concert with the Bidder within the meaning of Section 2 para. 5 sentence 1 and sentence 3 of WpÜG. The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement could turn out to be incorrect; future events and developments could considerably deviate from the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement.
The takeover offer is issued exclusively under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, expecially under the WpÜG and the Regulation on the Content of the Offer Document, Consideration for Takeover Offers and Mandatory Offers and the Release from the Obligation to Publish and Issue an Offer ('WpÜG Offer Regulation') and certain applicable provisions of U.S. securities law. The takeover offer is not executed according to the provisions of jurisdictions (including the jurisdictions of Canada, Australia, and Japan) other than those of the Federal Republic of Germany and certain applicable provisions of U.S. securities law. Thus, no other announcements, registrations, admissions or approvals of the takeover offer outside the Federal Republic of Germany have been filed, arranged for or granted. The Douglas Shareholders cannot rely on having recourse to provisions for the protection of investors according to another jurisdiction than that of the Federal Republic of Germany. Any contract that is concluded on the basis of this takeover offer is exclusively governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany and is to be interpreted in accordance with them.
DOUGLAS Shareholders in the United States (the 'U.S. Shareholders') are notified that this takeover offer is being made in respect of securities of a company that is a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of of the United States of 1934, as amended (the 'Exchange Act') and whose shares are not registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act. Before deciding to sell DOUGLAS Shares, U.S. Shareholders should carefully read the section 'Important information for U.S. Shareholders' of the offer document because there are considerable differences between this takeover offer and public tender offers for securities of U.S. companies.
This takeover offer is being made in reliance on, and in compliance with exemptions from the application of certain provisions of the Exchange Act. Consequently, the Bidder is not required to comply with all of the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act and accordingly is subject to publication and other procedural requirements with regard to, inter alia, withdrawal rights, offer period, settlement procedures, and timing of payments, which may differ from the relevant requirements governing public tender offers in the United States.
Contact:
Press Contact Kreke Family:
CNC – Communications & Network
Consulting AG
Mirko Wollrab
Phone: +49 69 506 037 562
Mobile: +49 172 673 3826
Mirko.Wollrab@cnc-communications.com
Press Contact Advent International:
Hering Schuppener Consulting
Dr. Brigitte von Haacke
Phone: +49-69-921874-62
Mobile: +49 (171) 8630046
bvhaacke@heringschuppener.com
Oda von Dreising
Phone: +49-69-921874-47
Mobile: +49 (151) 15176631
ovdreising@heringschuppener.com
Investor Relations:
Hering Schuppener Consulting
Harald Kinzler
Phone: +49-69-921874-65
Mobile: +49 (173) 3068688
hkinzler@heringschuppener.com