Date: 4 November 2005
Pilkington, the world's second-biggest manufacturer of glass used by the building industry, rejected a proposed bid from Japanese group Nippon Sheet Glass, as it posted in-line first-half results."The board has now informed NSG that its proposed offer falls materially short of a price which the board is prepared to recommend," Pilkington said Thursday in an official statement responding to the proposed 150-pence-per-share bid.
The British group also unveiled a 22-percent jump in pre-tax profits to 99 million pounds (146 million euros, 176 million dollars) for the six months to September 30, 2005.
That compared with 81 million pounds for the same period the previous year and tallied with analysts' consensus forecasts.
On Monday, NSG said that it had made an approach to Pilkington which may or may not lead to a cash offer for the shares it does not already own.
Nippon owns about 20.6 percent in Pilkington, whose market capitalisation totals about 1.7 billion pounds (2.5 billion euros, 3.0 billion dollars).
Pilkington, which is also the world's biggest maker of car windshields, saw its share price shed 1.33 percent to 148.5 pence in early morning deals, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.57 percent to 7,918.10 points.
The group is listed on the second tier of the British stock market.
On Monday, Pilkington shares had rocketed over 19 percent as details of the NSG approach emerged.
Founded in 1826 and employing 23,800 people, Pilkington forecasts annual revenues of 2.7 billion pounds in 2005. It has manufacturing operations in 24 countries on five continents and sales in more than 130 countries.
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