Irish energy distributor DCC Energy DCC.L on Monday agreed to a £5.75 billion ($7.68 billion) sale to a consortium of U.S. private equity firms KKR KKR.N and Energy Capital Partners, in yet another foreign takeover of a UK-listed company this year.
Under the offer, DCC shareholders will receive £65.25 per share in cash, a proposed final dividend of 147.22 pence, and a potential payment of up to £1.25 a share upon the sale of its Nexora technology unit for at least $800 million.
"We've simplified the group, spent a huge amount of time on the investor relations circuit and that really hasn't translated into the value that private capital is willing to put on our business," CEO Donal Murphy told Reuters in an interview when asked about the rationale for the agreement.
DCC Energy has been focusing on its core energy business by stepping up acquisitions in Europe's liquid gas markets and divesting non-core units like healthcare and technology.
The offer, the third tabled by the consortium, is at more than a 26% premium to the group's closing price on April 28, the day before it received the consortium's first bid. DCC's investors had reportedly opposed the takeover at the proposed price.
Murphy said one of the opposing shareholders, which he declined to name, had "sold down a very high percentage of their stake at a lower price than the price that the consortium has on the table" and that the board was confident of shareholder support for the deal.
Shares in the firm were up 1.3% at £63.65 in early trade.
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