Kretinsky makes a new bid for Metro takeover

A new attempt to take over the German retailer Metro is being made by EP Global Commerce, the investment vehicle of the Czechoslovak duo Daniel Kretinsky and Patrik Tkac. The company made its first bid for dominance a year ago, but this got it to just 29.99 percent of the Metro group. In this latest move, the company is planning to make a voluntary offer to buy out shares. Unlike it's previous takeover bid, in such an offer, there is no lower limit to the total number of shares that would make the offer binding. "EP Global Commerce doesn't expect that at the end of the takeover it will own more than 50 percent of the voting rights," wrote the company in a press release. Members of Metro's top management own 23 percent of all shares in the company, while the remainder not owned by EPGC are traded on the stock market. Since last August, when EPGC made its offer of €16 per share, Metro shares have fallen in value. Today, the investment company is offering just €8.48 per share, which is slightly more than the going rate on the stock market.