Germany’s ATON seeks Murray & Roberts takeover

Murray & Roberts recently received correspondence from ATON GmbH regarding ATON’s intention to make a firm offer to Murray & Roberts’ shareholders to acquire all the issued and to be issued ordinary shares of Murray & Roberts, not currently owned by ATON at a cash offer price of ZAR15.00 per Murray & Roberts’ ordinary share. ATON is proposing to implement the proposed offer by making an offer directly to Murray & Roberts’ shareholders.

ATON is a private investment holding company headquartered in Germany, with a diverse portfolio of investments in the mining, engineering, aviation and health technology sectors. ATON said on 29 March that it had raised its stake in Murray & Roberts to 33.1%.

Regulations determine the process to be followed in respect of such a proposed offer, which are in place to protect the interests of all stakeholders. In accordance with the Companies Act, an independent board of Murray & Roberts will be reviewing the correspondence received from ATON.

Henry Laas, Group Chief Executive, Murray & Roberts comments: “I want to emphasise that the best interests of all our stakeholders’ will remain at the forefront of our minds.”