In Brief: L'Oreal/Maybelline merger
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
L'Oreal/Maybelline merger: Joh. A. Benckiser GmbH notifies Maybelline that it is seeking U.S. government approval to acquire shares of Maybelline common stock "in a number presently unknown," but sufficient to hold a majority stake in the firm, according to Maybelline's Jan. 25 14D-9 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The estate of Albert Reimann has filed for approval with the Federal Trade Commission and the Assistant Attorney General to surpass the $15 mil. and 50% common stock purchase threshold, which would make the acquisition subject to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act. Benckiser is an entity of the Reimann estate. Benckiser's announcement follows Maybelline's Jan. 22 statement that it has accepted L'Oreal S.A.'s offer to acquire the firm for $44 a share, or about $610 mil. Benckiser had previously put in a $42 a share bid for Maybelline. L'Oreal said Feb. 2 that it extended the expiration date of its cash tender offer to Feb. 9 at the request of DOJ...