M&A Activity • Apr 28, 2025
M&A Activity
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This document is an unofficial English-language translation of the press release relating to the filing of the draft response document (projet de note en réponse) which was filed with the French Autorité des marchés financiers on April 28, 2025, and which remains subject to its review. In the event of any discrepancies between this unofficial English-language translation and the official French press release, the official French press release shall prevail.

IN RESPONSE

This press release has been prepared by Verallia and distributed in accordance with the provisions of article 231-26 of General Regulations of the French Autorité des marches financiers (the "AMF") on April 28, 2025.
The draft offer document (the "Draft Offer Document") and the draft response document (the "Draft Response Document") remain subject to review by the AMF.
The Draft Response Document filed with the AMF on April 28, 2025, is available on the websites of the AMF (www.amf-france.org) and Verallia (www.verallia.com) and may be viewed free of charge at the registered office of Verallia (31 Place des Corolles, Tour Carpe Diem, Esplanade Nord, 92400 Courbevoie).
In accordance with article 231-28 of the AMF's General Regulations, the other information relating to the legal, financial and accounting characteristics of Verallia will be filed with the AMF and made available to the public, under the same terms and conditions, no later than the day before the opening of the tender offer.
A press release will be issued, no later than the day before the opening of the tender offer, to inform the public of the procedures for making these documents available.
Pursuant to Title III of Book II, and more specifically Articles 231-13 and 232-1 et seq. of the AMF General Regulation, Kaon V, a sub-fund of the Irish-registered fund Kaon Investment Fund ICAV ("Kaon ICAV"), a fund managed by BW Gestão de Investimentos Ltda., a limited liability company (sociedade limitada) incorporated under the laws of Brazil, with its registered address at Av. Brigadeiro Faria Lima 4440, 15th floor, Itaim Bibi, São Paulo, State of São Paulo, 04538-132 (Brazil) registered with the Brazilian National Register of Corporate Taxpayers under number 03.214.650/0001-28 ("BWGI") 1 99.965% owned2 by Brasil Warrant Administração de Bens e Empresas S.A. a joint-stock company (sociedade anônima fechada) incorporated under the laws of Brazil, with its registered address at Rodovia Washington Luiz SN Fazenda Tamandua - Km 307, Matão, 15994-500 (Brazil) and registered with the Brazilian National Register of Corporate Taxpayers under number 33.744.277/0001-88 ("BWSA"), itself controlled by the Moreira Salles family (hereinafter "Kaon V" or the "Offeror"), irrevocably offers the shareholders of Verallia, a public limited company (société anonyme) with a board of directors, having its registered office at Tour Carpe Diem, 31 Place des Corolles, 92400 Courbevoie, registered with the Nanterre Trade and Companies Registry (Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés) under number 812 163 913 (the "Company" or "Verallia" and together with its direct or indirect subsidiaries, the "Group"), and whose shares are listed on Compartment A of the regulated market of Euronext Paris under ISIN code FR0013447729 , ticker symbol "VRLA" (the "Shares"), to acquire in cash all of their Shares (subject to the exceptions below) at a price of thirty (30) euros per Share (dividend attached) (the "Offer Price") through a tender offer, the terms of which are described below (the "Offer").
The Offer Price is before the detachment of the ordinary dividend of 1.70 euro per Share in respect of the 2024 financial year, the distribution of which was submitted to Verallia's general meeting of shareholders held on 25 April 2025 (the "2024 Dividend"). After detachment of the 2024 Dividend on May 13, 2025, the Offer Price will be 28.30 euros per Share.
As of the date of the Draft Response Document, the Offeror directly held 34,837,565 Shares and 40,109,169 voting rights and, by way of assimilation, 2,000 Shares and 4,000 voting rights held by BWSA and BWGI who are both acting in concert with the Offeror3 , representing in aggregate 34,839,565 Shares and 40,113,169 voting rights representing respectively 28.844 % of the share capital and 27.955 % of the theoretical voting rights of the Company.
The Offer targets all outstanding or to be issued Shares which are not held by the Offeror, with the exception of the following Shares:
1 BWGI is registered as an asset management company with the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários).
2 BWGI's residual shareholders are managers benefiting from incentive programs.
3 BWGI and BWSA each hold 1,000 Shares and 2,000 voting rights.
4 Based on a number of Verallia shares equal to 120,805,103 as at 31 March 2025.
5 Based on a number of Verallia voting rights equal to 143,526,169 as at 31 March 2025.
issued but legally unavailable; and
i.e., at the date of the Draft Response Document, a maximum total number of Shares subject to the Offer equal to 82,302,323 Shares6 .
Insofar as necessary, it is specified that the Offer will not target the free Shares whose vesting period will expire after the estimated closing date of the Offer (and, if applicable, of the Reopened Offer, as this term is defined in Section 2.11), which concerns:
The Offer is voluntary and will be carried out in accordance with the normal procedure, in accordance with the provisions of articles 232-1 et seq. of the AMF General Regulation. The Offer will be open for a period of at least twenty-five (25) trading days, without prejudice to the application of article 231-11 of the AMF General Regulation as described in Section 2.5.2 (Regulatory approvals and merger control clearances).
The Offer is subject to the minimum threshold referred to in Article 231-9, I of the AMF General Regulation, as well as, in accordance with Article 231-11 of the AMF General Regulation, subject to clearance of the transaction under merger control by the European Commission (detailed in Section 2.5.2 of the Draft Offer Document). The opening of the Offer is also subject to obtaining the regulatory approvals described in Section 2.5.2.1 of the Draft Offer Document.
The financing of the sums owed by the Offeror (described in Section 2.13 of the Draft Offer Document) in connection with the Offer will be carried out by drawing on a short or medium-term bank loan to be subscribed by the Offeror, and which is intended to be refinanced from the BWSA group's own funds.
In accordance with the provisions of article 231-13 of the AMF General Regulation, the Offer is presented by Bank of America Europe DAC (Paris Branch) and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (the "Presenting Banks") it being specified that only Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank guarantees the content and irrevocable nature of the commitments made by the Offeror in connection with the Offer.
6 Corresponding to a total of 120,805,103 Shares issued at 31 March 2025, minus:
- 34,839,565 Shares held by the Offeror (including through assimilation);
- 2,968,796 treasury Shares;
- 102,407 Managers Unavailable Free Shares; and
- 592,012 PEGI Unavailable Shares.
Verallia is, in terms of revenue, the European leader and world's third-largest producer of glass packaging for beverages and food products7 ; it is also, by volumes sold, the second-largest producer in Latin America8 . With 35 glass production plants, 5 decoration plants and 19 cullet treatment centers in 12 countries, Verallia produces 16 billion glass bottles and jars every year to supply 10,000 clients, from local family producers to major international brands.
The Offeror is a sub-fund of the Kaon ICAV, an Irish fund managed by BWGI, itself controlled by BWSA. BWSA has been operating for seven decades as the holding company of the Moreira Salles family, and has established successful partnerships worldwide with leading companies in a variety of sectors, including financial services, natural resources, agriculture, consumer products, business services, distribution and industry. BWGI is an asset management company registered with the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários), established in 2008 with discretionary powers to manage the investment portfolio of BWSA's controlling shareholders through certain investment vehicles, including Kaon V, Verallia's direct shareholder. BWGI, through its affiliates, has been a shareholder in Verallia since its IPO in 2019. BWGI, via another sub-fund of the Kaon ICAV fund is also the largest shareholder in the listed French company Elis S.A.
On February 3, 2025, BWGI confirmed that it was studying the possibility of initiating a voluntary tender offer for the Verallia shares not held by BWGI (through Kaon V), with no intention of proceeding with a squeeze-out. The Company's Board of Directors met on February 4, 2025 to set up an ad hoc committee, composed exclusively of independent directors, to (i) propose to the Company's Board of Directors the appointment of an independent expert, (ii) monitor the work of the independent expert and (iii) make a recommendation to the Company's Board of Directors in the context of the preparation by the Company's Board of Director on the interest of the Offer and the consequences of such Offer for the Company, its shareholders and its employees.
On February 19, 2025, on the recommendation of the ad hoc committee, the Company's Board of Directors appointed the firm Ledouble, represented by Mrs. Agnès Piniot and Mr. Olivier Cretté, as independent expert, with the task of preparing a report on the financial terms of the Offer in accordance with the provisions of article 261-1 of the AMF General Regulation.
After submitting a letter to Verallia's board of directors confirming its intention to file the Offer, BWGI confirmed on March 10, 2025 and on March 15, 2025 by way of a press release, its forthcoming filing, once Verallia has published its results for the first quarter of the year.
The Offeror has expressed the intentions set out in section 1.2 of the Draft Offer Document and has also, at the request of the Company's management, given certain commitments to the Company detailed in a letter of engagement sent to the Company on April 23, 2025, (the "Engagement Letter"), the main terms of which are described in section 1.3 of the Draft Offer Document.
In accordance with Article 231-13 of the AMF General Regulation, the Presenting Banks, acting on behalf of the Offeror as presenting institutions (établissements présentateurs), filed the draft Offer with the AMF on 24 April 2025 in the form of a voluntary tender offer for all the Shares outstanding or to be issued other than the Shares held by the Offeror (subject to the exceptions detailed in Section 2.3 of the Draft
7 On the basis of the revenue realized in 2023 by market players in Europe (as defined by such market players), as extracted from publicly available data (including annual reports and press releases) and on the basis of Verallia's estimates.
8 On the basis of volumes sold in 2023 in Argentina, Brazil and Chile.
As part of the Offer, which will be conducted in accordance with the normal procedure governed by articles 232-1 et seq. of the AMF General Regulation, the Offeror irrevocably undertakes to acquire from the Company's shareholders, at the Offer Price (subject to the adjustments described in Section 2.2 of the Draft Offer Document), all of the Shares that will be tendered to the Offer.
Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank guarantees the content and irrevocable nature of the undertakings made by the Offeror as part of the Offer, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 231- 13 and 232-4 of the AMF General Regulation.
The Offer Price is €30 per share before detachment of the 2024 Dividend, and €28.30 per share after detachment of the 2024 Dividend on May 13, 2025.
In addition, any other distribution of dividends, interim dividends, reserves, premiums or any other distribution (in cash or in kind) decided by the Company, or any redemption or reduction of its share capital, with a detachment date or reference date at which one shall be a shareholder to be entitled to is set before the settlement-delivery of the Offer (or, as the case may be, the Reopened Offer), will give rise to a euro per euro downward adjustment of the Offer Price, it being specified that if the operation giving right to an adjustment of the terms of the Offer occurs between the settlement-delivery date of the Offer (excluded) and the settlement-delivery date of the Reopened Offer (included), only the price of the Reopened Offer shall be adjusted.
Any adjustment to the Offer Price shall be published in a press release issued by the Offeror subject to the prior approval of the AMF.
As of the date of the Draft Response Document, the Offeror holds 34,839,565 Shares.9
The Offer targets all Shares outstanding or to be issued not held by the Offeror, with the exception of the following Excluded Shares:
i.e. at the date of the Draft Offer Document, a maximum total number of Shares targeted by the Offer equal to 82,302,323 Shares.
As of the date of the Draft Offer Document, there are no other equity securities or other financial instruments or rights that could give access, immediately or in the future, to the Company's share capital or voting rights.
The opening and closing of the Offer are subject to obtaining the authorizations referred to in Section
9 This figure includes the 1,000 shares held directly by each of BWGI and BWSA.
2.5.2 of the Draft Information Memorandum. The European Commission's clearance pursuant to merger control was obtained on April 24, 2025.
The Offeror does not intend to implement a squeeze-out procedure for the Shares not tendered to the Offer by the Company's minority shareholders in accordance with the provisions of article L. 433-4, II, of the French Monetary and Financial Code and articles 237-1 et seq. of the AMF's General Regulations (it being specified that the Offeror reserves the right to reverse this commitment in the event of an alternative strategic project receiving a favorable opinion from an ad hoc committee of the Company's Board of Directors made up of independent directors).
The free share plans implemented by the Company (the "Free Shares Plans") and the situation of the beneficiaries of these Free Share Plans are described in Section 1.3.3 of the Draft Response Note.
As of April 24, 2025, 926,307 Shares are held by employees of the Group in certain countries as part of an international group savings plan (PEGI) enabling employees to hold Verallia Shares directly (the "PEGI Shares"):
As of the date of the Draft Response Document, 3,950,350 Shares are held by the "Verallia" corporate mutual fund (the "FCPE"), which is the investment vehicle for Verallia's group savings plan and Verallia's international group savings plan for employees in certain countries.
The FCPE's Supervisory Board will be responsible for deciding whether to tender all or part of the 3,950,350 Shares held by the FCPE.
This contemplated decision by the FCPE does not constitute a case of early release of the sums invested by employees in the FCPE.
The Engagement Letter further states that, subsequent to the closing of the Reopened Offer and subject to the existence of a Liquidity Default (as defined below), the Offeror will work with the Board of Directors to ensure that a liquidity mechanism is put in place (directly with the Offeror or through the Company) for the benefit of holders of shares issued under the Company's Free Share Plans for the Shares concerned, at a price that would be determined in a manner consistent with the Offer Price, in accordance with customary practices in this area (notably by applying a formula including a multiple determined on the basis of the Offer Price) (the "Liquidity Mechanism"). The "Liquidity Default" will be characterized if the average volume of Verallia shares traded each trading day over a one-month period is less than (or equal to) 0.05%10 of Verallia's share capital.
In accordance with article 231-13 of the AMF General Regulation, the Presenting Banks, acting on behalf of the Offeror, filed the draft Offer and the Draft Offer Document with the AMF on 24 April 2025 (the "Draft Offer Document"). On the same day, the AMF published a notice of filing for the Draft Offer Document on its website (www.amf-france.org).
The Company filed the Draft Response Document with the AMF on April 28, 2025. A notice of filing will be published by the AMF on its website (www.amf-france.org).
In accordance with article 231-26 of the AMF General Regulation, the Draft Response Document, as filed with the AMF, is available free of charge to the public at the registered office of the Offeror and at the offices of the Presenting Banks, as well as online on the websites of the AMF (www.amf-france.org) and of the Company (www.verallia.com).
The AMF will publish on its website a reasoned clearance decision regarding the Offer on its website (www.amf-france.org), if necessary, after verifying that the draft Offer complies with the applicable legal and regulatory provisions. In accordance with article 231-26 of the AMF's General Regulation, this clearance decision will constitute approval of the Offeror's offer document and the Company's response document.
In accordance with article 231-27 of the AMF's General Regulations, the Draft Response Document approved by the AMF will be made available free of charge to the public at the Company's registered office, no later than the day before the opening of the Offer. This document will also be available on the Company's website (www.verallia.com) and on the AMF website (www.amf-france.org).
In accordance with article 231-28 of the AMF's General Regulations, the document containing other information on the Company's legal, financial and accounting characteristics will be made available to the public free of charge at the Company's registered office, no later than the day before the opening of the Offer. This document will also be available on the Company's website (www.verallia.com) and on the AMF website (www.amf-france.org).
In accordance with articles 231-27 and 231-28 of the AMF's General Regulations, press releases detailing the terms and conditions under which these documents will be made available by the Company will be published no later than the day before the opening of the Offer and will be posted on the Company's website (www.verallia.com).
Prior to the opening of the Offer, the AMF will publish a notice of opening and timetable, and Euronext Paris will publish a notice announcing the terms and timetable of the Offer.
The Shares tendered to the Offer (including, as the case may be, to the Reopened Offer) must be freely negotiable and free from any lien, pledge, charge or other security interest or restriction of any kind whatsoever restricting the free transfer of their ownership. The Offeror reserves the right to reject, at its sole discretion, any Shares tendered to the Offer which do not meet this condition.
The proposed Offer and all related agreements are subject to French law. Any dispute or litigation, regardless of the subject matter or basis, relating to this draft Offer will be brought before the competent courts.
The Offer will be open for a minimum period of 25 trading days.
The holders of Shares held in the bearer form (au porteur) or in the administered registered form (au nominatif administré) held in an account managed by a financial intermediary and who wish to tender
10 Based on volumes as reflected by Bloomberg "European Composite" data.
their Shares to the Offer must submit a tender order for their Shares to their financial intermediary, in accordance with the standard forms provided by the latter, no later than the last business day of the Offer and in good time for their order to be executed. Holders of Shares are invited to contact their financial intermediaries to check the terms applicable and in particular whether a shorter deadline is applicable to them.
The holders of Shares held in pure registered form (au nominatif pur) and who wish to tender their Shares to the Offer must submit a tender order for their Shares to Société Générale Securities Services, acting as registrar of the pure registered Shares, in accordance with the standard forms provided by the latter, no later than the last business day of the Offer and in good time for their order to be executed. Holders of Shares are invited to contact their financial intermediaries or the registrar to check the terms applicable and in particular whether a shorter deadline is applicable to them.
Pursuant to Article 232-2 of the AMF General Regulation, orders to tender Shares to the Offer may be revoked at any time up to and including the closing date of the Offer. After this date, orders to tender to the Reopened Offer will become irrevocable.
No interest will be paid by the Offeror for the period between the date on which the Shares are tendered to the Offer and the settlement-delivery date of the Offer (or the date on which the Shares are returned). This settlement date will be indicated in the Offer's results notice to be published by Euronext Paris. Settlement and delivery will take place after the centralization operations.
The centralization of the orders to tender Shares in the Offer will be carried out by Euronext Paris.
Each financial intermediary and the institution holding the registered accounts of the Company's Shares must, on the date indicated in the Euronext Paris notice, transfer to Euronext Paris the Shares for which they will have received a tender order in the Offer.
After receipt by Euronext Paris of all orders to tender in the Offer under the conditions described above, Euronext Paris will centralize all of these orders, determine the results of the Offer and communicate them to the AMF.
As the case may be, all the operations described above will be repeated in an identical sequence and under the conditions, in particular the timeframe, which will be specified in a notice published by Euronext Paris, in the context of the Reopened Offer.
Pursuant to the provisions of article 232-3 of its General Regulations, the AMF will announce the final result of the Offer no later than nine (9) trading days after the closing of the Offer. If the AMF determines that the Offer is successful, Euronext Paris will indicate in a notice the date and terms of delivery of the Shares and payment of the funds.
On the settlement date of the Offer (and, as the case may be, the Reopened Offer), the Offeror will credit Euronext Paris with the funds corresponding to the settlement of the Offer (or, as the case may be, the Reopened Offer). On that date, the Company Shares tendered to the Offer and all rights attached thereto will be transferred to the Offeror. Euronext Paris will make the cash payment to the intermediaries on behalf of their clients who have tendered their Shares to the Offer (or, as the case may be, to the Reopened Offer) on the settlement-delivery date of the Offer (or, as the case may be, of the Reopened Offer).
In accordance with the provisions of article 232-4 of the AMF General Regulation, if the Offer is successful, the Offer will be automatically reopened no later than ten (10) trading days after publication of the final result of the Offer, on the same terms as the Offer (the "Reopened Offer"). In this case, the AMF will publish the timetable for the Reopened Offer, which will, in principle last at least ten (10) trading days.
If the Offer is reopened, the procedure for tendering Shares to the Reopened Offer and the procedure for
the Reopened Offer will be identical to those for the initial Offer, it being specified, however, that orders to tender Shares to the Reopened Offer will be irrevocable.
Prior to the opening of the Offer, the AMF will publish a notice of the opening and timetable of the Offer, and Euronext Paris will publish a notice announcing the terms and opening of the Offer. The Offer will be open for a minimum period of 25 trading days.
An indicative timetable is proposed below and will be adjusted according to the date on which regulatory approvals:
| Date | Main stages of the Offer |
|---|---|
| 24 April 2025 | Filing of the Offer and the Offeror's Draft Offer Document with the AMF. - |
| The Offeror's Draft Offer Document will be made available to the public and - |
|
| posted on the AMF website (www.amf-france.org) and the Company's | |
| website (www.verallia.com). | |
| Publication by the Offeror of a press release announcing the filing of the Offer - |
|
| and the availability of the Draft Offer Document. | |
| 28 April 2025 |
Filing of the Company's draft response document, including the reasoned - |
| opinion of the Company's Board of Directors and the independent expert's | |
| report, with the AMF. | |
| The Company's Draft Response Document will be made available to the - |
|
| public and posted on the AMF website (www.amf-france.org) and the | |
| Company's website (www.verallia.com). | |
| Publication by the Company of a press release announcing the availability of - |
|
| the Draft Response Document. | |
| 23 May or 5 June | Publication of the AMF's decision to approve the Offer. - |
| 2025 | The offer document (note d'information) and the response document (note en - |
| réponse) are available to the public on the Company's website | |
| (www.verallia.com) and on the AMF website (www.amf-france.org). | |
| Publication by the Offeror of the press release making the offer document - |
|
| available. | |
| Publication by the Company of the press release making available the - |
|
| Company's response document. | |
| At the latest the | Information on the legal, financial and accounting characteristics of the - |
| day before the | Offeror will be made available to the public at the registered offices of the |
| Offer opening | Offeror and the Presenting Banks, and on the AMF (www.amf-france.org) and |
| date | Company (www.verallia.com) websites. |
| Information on the Company's legal, financial and accounting characteristics - |
|
| is available to the public at the Company's registered office and on the | |
| Company's website (www.verallia.com) and on the AMF website (www.amf | |
| france.org). | |
| Publication by the Offeror of a press release providing information on the - |
|
| legal, financial and accounting characteristics of the Offeror. |
|
| Publication by the Company of a press release providing information on the - |
|
| legal, financial and accounting characteristics of the Company. | |
| Following | |
| obtention of the | |
| regulatory | - Opening of the Offer. |
| approvals (see | |
| Section 2.5.2.1 of |
|
| the Draft Offer |
| Date | Main stages of the Offer |
|---|---|
| Document) | |
| 25 trading days after the opening of the Offer |
Closing of the Offer. - |
| In the next few | Publication of the notice of result of the Offer by the AMF. - |
| days following | If the Offer is successful, publication of the notice of reopening of the Offer - |
| closing of the | by Euronext. |
| Offer | If the Offer is successful, the Offer will be reopened for 10 trading days. - |
| If the Offer is successful, settlement-delivery of the Offer. - |
|
| If applicable, closing of the Reopened Offer. - |
|
| If applicable, publication by the AMF of the notice of result of the Reopened - |
|
| Offer. | |
| If applicable, settlement-delivery of the Reopened Offer. - |
The Offer has not been the subject of any application for registration or approval by a financial market supervisory authority other than the AMF, and no steps will be taken in this respect.
Consequently, the Offer is made to shareholders of the Company located in France and outside France, provided that the local laws to which they are subject allow them to take part in the Offer without the Offeror being required to complete any additional formalities.
The publication of the Draft Response Document, the Offer, the acceptance of the Offer and the delivery of the Shares in some countries may be subject to specific regulations or restrictions. As a result, the Offer is not addressed to persons subject to such restrictions, either directly or indirectly, and is not capable of being accepted in a country in which the Offer is subject to restriction.
Neither the Draft Response Document nor any other document relating to the Offer constitutes an offer to buy or sell financial instruments or a solicitation of an offer in any country in which such offer or solicitation would be illegal, could not be legally made or would require the publication of a prospectus of any other formality in accordance with local financial laws. The holders of Shares located outside of France may participate in the Offer only to the extent that such participation is authorised by the local laws to which they are subject.
As a result, persons in possession of the Draft Response Document or any other document relating to the Offer must inform themselves of and comply with any applicable legal or regulatory restrictions. A failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of applicable securities laws and regulations in some countries.
The Offeror will not be liable for the violation by any person located outside of France of foreign legal or regulatory restrictions applicable to it.
The Offer is for Verallia Shares, a company incorporated under French law, and is subject to French disclosure and procedural requirements, which differ from those applicable in the United States of America.
The Offer will be made in the United States of America in accordance with Section 14(e) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act"), the laws and regulations promulgated thereunder, including Regulation 14E subject to the exemptions provided by Rule 14d-1(d) of the 1934 Act (the "Tier II" exemption), and the requirements of French law. As a result, the Offer will be subject to certain disclosure and procedural rules, notably relating to notice of extension of the Offer, the timing of settlement, and the purchase of Shares outside of the Offer, which differ from the U.S. rules and procedures relating to tender offers in the United States of America.
Subject to any prohibition applicable under French law, the Offeror and its affiliates may, from time to time, purchase or make arrangements to purchase Verallia Shares outside of the Offer from the time the Offer was first publicly announced until the expiration of the acceptance period of the Offer (or until the end of the acceptance period of the Reopened Offer, if applicable), including purchases in the open market at prevailing prices or in private transactions at negotiated prices, in each case, outside of the United States of America and to the extent permitted by applicable French law. Any such purchases will not be made at prices higher than the Offer price unless the Offer price is increased accordingly. Any such purchases will be made in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations. To the extent that information about such purchases and or arrangements is made public in France, it would also be made public through a press release or any other method that would allow Verallia's U.S. Shareholders to be informed and on the website of the Company (www.verallia.com).
Payment of the Offer price to the Company's U.S. shareholders may be a taxable transaction, including for U.S. federal income tax purposes. It is recommended that each U.S. shareholder seek independent professional advice regarding the tax consequences of accepting the Offer.
It could be difficult for the Company's U.S. shareholders to assert their rights under U.S. federal securities law, since the Offeror and the Company have their registered offices outside the United States of America and some or all of their managers and directors are residents of countries other than the United States of America. The Company's U.S. shareholders may be unable to commence proceedings before a court outside the United States against a non-U.S. company, its managers or its directors by invoking breaches of U.S. securities law. It may also be difficult to force a non-U.S. company and its affiliates to comply with judgments handed down by a U.S. court.
This Draft Response Document has not been filed or examined by any market authority (federal or state) or any other regulatory authority in the United States of America, and none of those authorities has commented on the accuracy or adequacy of the information contained in this Draft Response Document. Any statement to the contrary would be unlawful and could constitute a criminal offence.
As of the date of this Draft Response Document, the Company's Board of Directors is made up of as follows:
In accordance with best corporate governance practices, as well as with AMF instruction no. 2006-08 and AMF recommendation no. 2006-15, the Board of Directors set up an ad hoc committee at its February 4, 2025 meeting, tasked with proposing the appointment of an independent expert to the Board of Directors, overseeing the monitoring of the expert's work, and issuing a recommendation to the Board of Directors on the interest for all the Company's stakeholders of the offer that could be submitted by the Offeror. This committee comprises three independent members of the Board of Directors:
The Board of Directors of Verallia met on April 27, 2025 for the purpose, in accordance with the provisions of article 231-19 of the general regulations of the Autorité des marchés financiers, of issuing a reasoned opinion including (i) the due diligence it has carried out in preparing this opinion, and relating to (ii) the merits of the Offer for the Company's shares at a price of 30 euros per share (€1.70 dividend attached)11, initiated by the Offeror and the consequences thereof for the Company, its shareholders and employees, as well as (iii) the voting conditions under which this opinion was issued.
Prior to this meeting, the members of the Board of Directors were provided with the following documents in order to benefit from all the information required to issue a reasoned opinion:
11 I.e., a price of €28.3 per share after the payment of the €1.70 per share dividend approved by the shareholders general meeting of Verallia on April 25, 2025.
12 The financial opinion relating to the fairness of the Offer price is based on and subject to the various assumptions, qualifications and other limitations contained therein. This financial opinion does not constitute, and is not intended to constitute, a "fairness opinion" within the meaning of the RG AMF, and does not in any way constitute a recommendation to shareholders as to whether or not they should tender their shares to the Offer. This financial opinion is for the sole use and benefit of the members of the Committee, and has been brought to the attention of the Board of Directors, and may not be relied upon by any other person.
The Board of Directors therefore issued the following reasoned opinion:
"The Board of Directors met today notably for the purpose, in accordance with the provisions of article 231-19 of the general regulations of the AMF, of issuing a reasoned opinion including (i) the due diligence it has carried out in preparing this opinion, and relating to (ii) the merits of the Offer for the Company's shares at a price of 30 euros per share (€1.70 dividend attached) 13 , initiated by BWGI and the consequences thereof for the Company, its shareholders and employees, as well as (iii) the voting conditions under which this opinion was issued.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors points out that the terms of the proposed Offer are described in the draft offer document ("projet de note d'information") filed by BWGI with the AMF on April 24, 2025.
The Chairman also points out that, in accordance with the provisions of Article 261-1 III of the AMF's General Regulations (the "RG AMF") and AMF recommendation no. 2006-15, the Board of Directors, at its meeting on February 4, 2025, formed an ad hoc committee (the "Committee") responsible for proposing to the Board of Directors the designation of an independent expert and for monitoring said expert's work, to prepare, in order to submit it to the board of directors, the draft reasoned opinion ("projet d'avis motivé") on the proposed Offer, and more generally, to ensure the monitoring of the preparatory work relating to the proposed Offer from the Company's perspective and to examine any question relating to the proposed Offer, including in the event of an alternative tender offer by a third party.
The Committee is made up of three members: Ms. Marie-José Donsion, who was appointed Chairwoman of the Committee by the Board of Directors, Mr. Didier Debrosse and Mr. Pierre Vareille, all of whom are independent directors of the Company.
Prior to today's meeting, the members of the Board of Directors were provided with the following documents in order to benefit from all the information required to issue a reasoned opinion:
13 i.e., a price of €28.3 per share after the payment of the €1.70 per share dividend approved by the shareholders general meeting of Verallia on April 25, 2025.
are fair from a financial point of view for shareholders voluntarily tendering their shares to the Offer;
At its meeting on February 11, 2025, the Committee decided to retain Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier as legal advisor, and Morgan Stanley as financial advisor, to assist the Committee in carrying out its duties in connection with the Offer.
Prior to the meeting of February 15, 2025, the Committee identified two firms as being able to meet the criteria of competence and independence required by the applicable regulations to perform the engagement of independent expert for the purposes of the Offer. After reviewing the proposals received, the Committee selected Ledouble mainly on the basis of the absence of any present or past link between the firm and the Company, its recent experience in complex market transactions and, more generally, its professional reputation and the human and material resources at its disposal.
On behalf of Ledouble, Mrs. Agnès Piniot has indicated that it accepts the principle of this appointment and that there are no incompatibilities that would prevent it from carrying out its assignment. Ledouble also confirmed that it had sufficient material resources and the necessary availability to carry out its assignment during the period in question.
At its meeting on February 19, 2025, on the recommendation of the Committee, the Company's Board of Directors therefore appointed the firm Ledouble, represented by Mrs. Agnès Piniot and Mr. Olivier Cretté, as independent expert in accordance with the provisions of article 261-1 I of the RG AMF, with the task of issuing an opinion on the fairness of the financial terms of the Offer.
Between February 11, 2025 and April 25, 2025, the Committee met 16 times for the purposes of its assignment, by videoconference or at the Company's registered office. The Committee members exchanged views with the independent expert and the Committee's advisors throughout the process, including at regularly scheduled meetings and during informal discussions.
Mrs. Marie-José Donsion, in her capacity as Chairwoman of the Committee, then reports on her mission and briefly summarizes the Committee's work:
− on February 11, 2025, the Committee met by videoconference to select the law firm Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier to act as legal advisor to the Committee and the bank Morgan Stanley to act as financial advisor to the Committee;
14 The financial opinion relating to the fairness of the Offer price is based on and subject to the various assumptions, qualifications and other limitations contained therein. This financial opinion does not constitute, and is not intended to constitute, a "fairness opinion" within the meaning of the RG AMF, and does not in any way constitute a recommendation to shareholders as to whether or not they should tender their shares to the Offer. This financial opinion is for the sole use and benefit of the members of the Committee, and has been brought to the attention of the Board of Directors, and may not be relied upon by any other person.
In carrying out its work, the Committee has endeavored to ensure that the interests of the Group and all its stakeholders are respected, considering the fact that BWGI has been a shareholder and member of the Board of Directors of the Company since 2019, and has always supported the Company. Nevertheless, and particularly in view of BWGI's special position, the Committee has sought to clarify the issues involved in a shareholder's decision as to whether to tender their shares to the Offer.
To this end, the Committee and its legal and financial advisors have had several exchanges with representatives and advisors of BWGI in order to obtain certain assurances from BWGI or certain clarifications or details of the terms of the Offer and the commitments made by BWGI in the Commitment Letter.
In support of the requests of the Company's management, the Committee suggested a number of improvements to the draft Commitment Letter, in particular with regard to the partial assumption of refinancing costs and the maintenance of the Company's investment grade credit rating - significant elements for shareholders deciding not to tender their shares.
The Committee also ensured that the business plan to 2027 presented to the independent expert was the one approved by the Board of Directors on December 4, 2024, it being noted that on April 23, 2025, the group published its results for the first quarter 2025 and revised its 2025 full-year budget accordingly, which is down compared to the first year of the business plan. The later years of the business plan remain unchanged. The Committee ensured that these elements reflect at the time of the Offer the best possible estimate of the Company's forecasts, it being specified that there were no other relevant forecast data.
The Committee also ensured that the independent expert had been provided with all the information required to carry out his assignment, and that he had been able to carry out his work under satisfactory conditions.
The Committee noted that, as of April 25, 2025, it had not received any questions or comments from shareholders addressed to the Company or the independent expert, or transmitted by the AMF. Details of the interactions between Committee members and the independent expert are set out in full in Ledouble's expert report.
In addition, the Committee has not been informed of or identified any factors that might call into question the proper performance of the independent expert's work.
As indicated above, the Committee met with the independent expert and monitored its work. Mrs. Agnès Piniot and Mr. Olivier Cretté, representatives of Ledouble, presented in their report the summary and conclusions of their work:
In accordance with the scope of the Independent Expert's mandate (§ 1.1), we have endeavored to verify:
We remind you that we assess the Offer Price by reference to the financial conditions of the Offer and the valuation of the Share in the current circumstances, which, by definition, differ from the conditions under which Shareholders were able, on a case-by-case basis, to acquire their shares. We believe that the Business Plan, which underpins the Multicriteria Evaluation, reflects an ambitious strategy; the modeling we have done reflects this ambition:15
In view of the Offeror's intentions, which are limited to acquiring control of the Company, and its undertaking not to seek a squeeze-out, even if the legal and regulatory conditions for its implementation were met, we consider that the positioning of the Offer Price in relation to the results of the Multicriteria Valuation (§ 4.6) gives Shareholders the option of arbitrating and choosing, in full knowledge of the facts, whether or not to tender their shares to the Offer:
From a financial standpoint, the provisions of the Commitment Letter have no impact on our assessment of the fairness of the Offer Price (§6) for shareholders tendering their shares to the Offer17 .
We have not received any letters or e-mails from Shareholders, nor have we been informed of any by the Company, the Offeror or the AMF (§ 7).
15 The intrinsic valuation of the Share through a discounted cash flow analysis applied to the Business Plan positions the Offer Price of €30,0 within a range of:
- €29.8 to €33.7 when modeling the Business Plan as it stands;
- €29.4 to €33.3 when substituting the first year of the Business Plan with the Revised 2025 Budget.
16 The analogical valuation of the Share using a panel of Market Comparables positions the Offer Price of €30,0: - above a range from €22.5 to €24.7;
- within a range from €29.2 to €31.2 when only taking Vidrala from this panel, whose profitability is superior to that of Verallia.
17 Our findings concerning shareholders who do not wish to tender their shares are set out above (§ 6).
In the context of the present Offer, in view of all the factors described in our summary (§ 8), and following our valuation of the Share, we are of the opinion that the Offer Price of €30.00 (2024 dividend of €1.70 attached) is fair from a financial point of view for Shareholders voluntarily tendering their shares to the Offer.
We have not identified any provisions in the principles of the Offeror's Commitment Letter to the Company which would prejudice the interests of the Shareholders tendering their shares to the Offer. As the contracts corresponding to the commitments undertaken by the Offeror have not been finalized at this stage, we are not in a position to comment on their contents.".
On April 25, 2025, the Committee finalized its recommendation to the Board of Directors, based in particular on the independent expert's final report, the financial opinion of Morgan Stanley, 1 the report of Syndex, the expert appointed by the EWC, and the EWC's opinion on the Offer.
off costs to which the Company will be exposed in relation with the refinancing or the renegotiation of certain of its existing financing agreements as a result of the Offer, up to a maximum of 12.5 million euros, depending on the final amount of these costs;
range between €25.8 and €31.7), not restated for any control premiums that may have been paid by the acquirers;
18 AMF D&I n°225C0705, April 25, 2025.
and continued, in line with current and past practices; if the average daily liquidity of the Company's shares falls to a level equal to or below 0.05% of the share capital over a one-month period, BW will engage with the board to ensure that a liquidity mechanism is offered (by either BW directly or Verallia) to holders of Company shares resulting from long-term incentive plans for the concerned unavailable free shares (as indicated to the independent expert), under financial terms coherent with the Offer price and customary for this type of transactions (including via the application of a multiple determined on the basis of the Offer price). The Committee has exchanged with the Company on BWGI's agreement-in-principle and has encouraged the Company to clarify and set the scope and conditions of this liquidity mechanism, such that employees may be informed in a timely manner;
− the Committee has acknowledged the elements resulting from the intentions and objectives expressed by BWGI and the commitments made in its draft offer document and in its Commitment Letter;
The Board of Directors acknowledges the Committee's work and recommendations on the Offer.
In view of the information submitted, and in particular (i) the objectives and intentions expressed by BWGI, (ii) the Commitment Letter, under which, at the request of the Company's management, BWGI has detailed its objectives and intentions, notably as regards the maintained listing of Verallia and its investment grade status for a period of three years, and has accepted to assume part of the refinancing costs linked to the Offer, (iii) the valuation information prepared by the presenting banks, (iv) the Committee's work, (v) the conclusions of the independent expert's report, (vi) the report of the expert appointed by the EWC, (vii) the opinion of the EWC and (viii) more generally, the elements set out above, the Board of Directors, having deliberated, at a majority of 10 out of 11 directors present or represented, Bpifrance Investissement, represented by Mr. Sébastien Moynot, having abstained, decides (it being specified that Mr. João Moreira Salles, Mrs. Marcia Freitas and Mr. Guilherme Bottura (censor) have decided not to take part in the deliberations or vote on the reasoned opinion in view of the conflict of interest situation in which they find themselves):
The Company initiated an information and consultation procedure with its European Works Council ("CEEV") following the announcement of the proposed Offer.
On April 9, 2025, CEEV issued an unfavorable opinion on the proposed Offer and its social and environmental consequences, which is set out in Appendix 1 of the Draft Response Document.
In accordance with Article 231-19, 6° of the AMF's General Regulations, the members of the Company's Board of Directors have indicated their intention to tender or not tender their shares to the Offer, as described in Section 4 of the Draft Response Document.
The Board of Directors decided not to tender any treasury shares to the Offer, as these would be allocated to cover the Group's employee shareholding programs and performance share allocation plans.
In accordance with best corporate governance practices, AMF Instruction 2006-08 and AMF Recommendation 2006-15, the firm Ledouble, represented by Agnès Piniot and Olivier Cretté, was appointed as Independent Expert on February 19, 2025 by the Board of Directors, on the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee, to prepare a report assessing the fairness of the financial terms of the Offer.
This report, dated April 25, 2025, is reproduced in full in Appendix 2 and forms an integral part of the Draft Response Document.
To the best of the Company's knowledge, there are no agreements likely to have an impact on the
assessment or outcome of the Offer.
A detailed description of the financing agreements affected by a potential change of control of the Company in the event of the Offer being successful is included in Section 8.10 of the Draft Response Note. The maximum total cost of the resulting refinancing of the group, net of the commitments assumed by the Offeror, would be €0.40 per Verallia share. In addition, pursuant to the Engagement Letter, at the request of the Company's management, the Offeror has undertaken to bear a part of the exceptional costs to which the Company would be exposed in connection with the refinancing or renegotiation of certain of these financing agreements as a result of the Offer, up to a maximum amount of €12.5 million, depending on the final amount of such costs.
Other information relating to the Company's legal, financial and accounting characteristics will be filed with the AMF no later than the day before the opening of the Offer. In accordance with article 231-28 of the AMF's General Regulations, they will be available on Verallia's website (https://www.verallia.com/investisseurs/) and on the AMF's website (www.amf-france.org) the day before the opening of the Offer, and may be obtained free of charge from Verallia's registered office at 31 Place des Corolles, Tour Carpe Diem, Esplanade Nord, 92400 Courbevoie.
This Press Release has been prepared for information purposes only. It does not constitute an offer to the public and is not intended for distribution in countries other than France. The distribution of this Press Release, the Offer and its acceptance may be subject to specific regulations or restrictions in certain countries. The Offer is not addressed to persons subject to such restrictions, either directly or indirectly, and is not likely to be accepted from any country where the Offer would be subject to such restrictions. This Press Release is not intended for distribution in such countries. Accordingly, persons are in possession of this Press Release are required to inform themselves about and to observe any local restrictions that may apply.
Verallia disclaims all liability for any breach of these restrictions by any person.
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