Swiss industrial company Georg Fischer AG (“Georg Fischer” or “GF”) has today announced a voluntary recommended public cash tender offer for all shares in Uponor Corporation (“Uponor”) at EUR 28.85 per share (the “Tender Offer”).
The Tender Offer is conditional upon, among other things, GF having gained control of more than fifty (50) percent of the shares and voting rights in Uponor and that all necessary approvals by any regulatory authorities have been received (or where applicable, the relevant waiting periods have expired).
The Board of Directors of Uponor recommends that the shareholders of Uponor accept the Tender Offer.
Oras Invest, the largest shareholder of Uponor (25.7%), supports the Tender Offer, which would preserve Uponor’s identity while creating a global leader in water supply applications and has irrevocably undertaken to accept the Tender Offer with its entire shareholding, subject to certain customary conditions. In addition, other shareholders of Uponor representing, in aggregate with Oras Invest, a shareholding of 36.9 percent have irrevocably undertaken to accept the Tender Offer.
Oras Invest considers Georg Fischer a renowned industrial company with global operations and leading positions in several segments. Oras Invest therefore aims to become a GF shareholder and is evaluating different alternatives to purchase shares in GF, in line with its ownership strategy, and subject to market conditions, overall economic circumstances and applicable laws, also including the possibility to purchase shares in GF before and during the Tender Offer period.
“Oras Invest has since 1999 been the largest shareholder of Uponor, a leading global provider of solutions that efficiently and effectively move water through cities, buildings, and homes. Uponor is a strongly performing company with a solid strategy and industrial operations in Europe and North America. The company’s highly capable management has successfully executed current strategy to drive profitable growth and significant long-term value creation. We believe that the announced combination with GF is beneficial for Uponor and its shareholders”, says Ville Kivelä, Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Oras Invest.
Oras Invest’s strategy is guided by sustainable value creation through economic cycles, and it is ready to support this strategy with firm actions. Committed ownership, long-term development and value creation are permanent factors of the company’s strategy.
For further inquiries, please contact:
Ville Kivelä, CIO, Oras Invest
Anniina Myllyperkiö, Executive Assistant, Oras Invest, Tel. +358 10 2868 100, anniina.myllyperkio@orasinvest.fi
Oras Invest is a family company focused on industrial ownership. The roots of Oras Invest lie in family entrepreneurship: the faucet company Oras was founded in 1945. Our focus is on industrial companies that operate in the building, water and bio-based materials value chains or in closely related sectors. We develop our companies through active board work and close cooperation with management, as well as with other significant owners. Our current industrial ownerships are Oras Group, Uponor, Kemira and Valmet. The net asset value of Oras Invest was EUR 1.3 billion at the end of 2022.
About GF: With its three divisions GF Piping Systems, GF Casting Solutions, and GF Machining Solutions, GF offers products and solutions that enable the safe transport of liquids and gases, as well as lightweight casting components and high-precision manufacturing technologies. As a sustainability and innovation leader, GF has strived to achieve profitable growth while offering superior value to its customers for more than 200 years. Founded in 1802, GF is headquartered in Switzerland and present in 34 countries with 138 companies, 60 of which are production companies with 83 facilities. For the year ended December 31, 2022, GF’s 15,207 employees worldwide generated sales of EUR 4.1 billion (CHF 4.0 billion).