Dutch maritime transport firm Boskalis has dropped its stake in fellow Netherlands-headquartered firm Fugro down to 9.38%, the company announced today (13 December).
The news is likely welcomed by Fugro, which has been at odds with Boskalis over what it deemed a hostile takeover attempt back in 2014 when Boskalis gobbled up stake in the geosciences company, at one point owning a 25.1% stake. At the time, two years ago, Fugro made it known publicly that it wanted to remain an independent company, and has been fighting to achieve that ever since.
In May 2016, Fugro announced that the Court of Appeal in The Hague ruled in favor of Fugro and dismissed a claim by Boskalis to force a shareholders' vote on a non-binding recommendation in respect of one of Fugro's three measures that would have protected the company from a takeover attempt.
"During the presentation of the half year results, we indicated that we would reconsider our position in Fugro," said Peter Berdowski, CEO, Boskalis. "Despite our conviction that parts of Fugro fit very well with Boskalis, we recently decided to sell down our Fugro holding in steps.
"This decision is on the one hand based on the uncertain market conditions which continue to prevail much longer than anticipated and on the other hand also the position of the Fugro management. Through the gradual sell down we have taken away uncertainty in our own share and we expect to create more value for our shareholders going forward."
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