By Ludwig Burger
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German pharma group Merck KGaA on Tuesday sidestepped the management of takeover target Versum Materials and took its $5.9 billion (4.5 billion pounds) offer directly to the U.S. chemical company's shareholders.
Versum, the former speciality chemicals division of industrial gases group Air Products (NYSE:APD), has since last month kept up its opposition to Merck's unsolicited cash offer, saying it was committed to an all-share merger with U.S. rival Entegris agreed in January.
Merck on Tuesday kept the offer price unchanged from its previous proposal for $48 per share in cash. That compares with an offer of $38.8 worth of Entegris stock for each Versum share under the U.S. company's existing deal, based on Entegris' closing price of $34.68 on Monday.
"We are firmly committed to completing the acquisition of Versum and the tender offer is an unambiguous step towards that objective," family-controlled Merck said in a letter to Versum shareholders after filing definitive proxy materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Merck said it had secured fully committed financing from Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) Fortis and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn).
Merck Chief Executive Stefan Oschmann said at a press conference this month that the company had received renewed encouragement from the markets for its proposal.
Versum's shares closed at $49.67 on Monday, reflecting hopes of a higher bid.
