ADVA share gains double digits: ADTRAN successful with lower acceptance threshold in ADVA takeover

This was well received on the stock exchange. ADVA Optical’s share price shot up 15 percent in early trading on Monday. Most recently, it increased by 14.02 percent to 14.48 euros. The shares of the telecom supplier are heading back to the 20-year high that they reached last August at EUR 15.48.

By the end of the acceptance period on January 26, holders had accepted the offer for more than 60 percent of the shares, ADVA announced late Friday evening. The final result at the end of the acceptance period is expected to be published this Monday (January 31). ADVA shareholders who have not yet tendered their shares can still accept the offer within a further acceptance period, it said. This will probably last from February 1st to 14th.

ADTRAN lowered the original acceptance threshold from 70 percent to 60 percent around three weeks ago. As a result, the takeover bid took two weeks longer than originally planned. Both companies had made the takeover plans public at the end of August.

ADVA is valued at just under EUR 760 million in the intended merger. The acquisition is to be completed through an exchange of shares, in which ADVA shareholders are to receive 0.8244 shares of the combined company (“HoldCo”) for each share. The ADTRAN shares will be exchanged for shares in the new holding company on a one-for-one basis. Should all ADVA shareholders accept the offer, the ADVA shareholders would hold approximately 46 percent and the ADTRAN shareholders approximately 54 percent of the HoldCo.

According to earlier information, the transaction should be completed in the second or third quarter. The merger still has to be approved by the authorities. The combined company will be known as ADTRAN Holdings and will have global headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama. The European headquarters are to be located in Planegg/Martinsried near Munich.

The new company is to be listed on the US technology exchange Nasdaq and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It has annual sales of approximately $1.2 billion. ADVA and ADTRAN are targeting annual pre-tax synergies of approximately $52 million within two years of the closing of the transaction. The one-time expenses are said to be around $37 million.

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MUNICH (dpa-AFX)

Image credits: ADVA Optical Networking