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Shareholders of Azko Nobel that were riled up by the Dutch company's rejection of a 26.3 billion euro ($29.5 billion) takeover offer from U.S. firm PPG Industries have gone to court in order to seek a pivotal win in the ongoing battle.
British hedge fund Elliott Advisors will attempt to convince judges at the Amsterdam Enterprise Chamber to order a probe into potential mismanagement by Azko's board and demand an extraordinary meeting of shareholders to vote, which will force Chairman Antony Burgmans to step down from the position.
A ruling is expected within a week. This provides PPG enough time to decide whether it decides to submit a formal bid to Dutch regulators without the support of the firm's board on June 1 or walk away for at least six months.
Azko will face a potentially awkward public questioning of its reasons for rejecting PPG's offer on May 8. The company will also be questioned on its alternative to embracing PPG, a plan to sell a third of its operations to pay shareholders a large dividend.
The Dutch paint maker initially argued that the potential takeover will be bad for employees, with the companies' cultures not being able to harmonize well, and that the deal faces antitrust risks and will be bad for the environment. The company reiterates that Azko should also remain Dutch in the country's national interest.
Shares in Azko closed at 75.33 euros on Friday, well below PPG's 96.75 a share offer made on April 20.
