Bird does not want to acquire CM.com through a hostile takeover
The Dutch provider of communication software Bird also wants the Dutch one CM.com not take over against his will. This is what Bird CEO Robert Vis said in response to the rejection of the offer of almost 166 million euros by the directors of CM.com.
Vis sees no point in an approach in which he bypasses the top of CM.com and approaches shareholders directly with his takeover proposal. “I have no intention of imposing myself on a company where I am not welcome. That has never been my way of working,” he says. He will not change anything about his takeover bid for the time being.
At the same time, Vis criticizes a decision announced on Wednesday deal whereby entrepreneur Valentijn Rensing, founder of Youfone, acquires a 3 percent stake in CM.com for 5 million euros. This sale of shares outside the stock exchange causes the value of other shares to dilute, says Vis. The price that Rensing pays for the shares is also lower than what Bird offers.
Bird and CM.com, the first based in Amsterdam, the other headquartered in Breda, both provide communications services to companies. This allows them to contact customers via WhatsApp or SMS, for example. According to Vis, a combination of the two companies would create a ‘European champion’ in AI services for customer contact.
CM.com rejects the offer, among other things, because it considers the acquisition price too low. The company also says that the takeover proposal does not provide enough “tangible and material long-term value” for customers, employees and shareholders. Founders Jeroen van Glabbeek and Gilbert Rooijers, who also run CM.com, still have large shareholdings in the company.