Yingde Gases drops ‘standstill’ requests, giving green light to bidders
China’s largest industrial gas supplier says it’s now open to offers, but boardroom tension continues
The decision is now likely to pave the way for a sale of mainland China’s largest industrial gas supplier, which is nonetheless still embroiled in a boardroom dispute.
A standstill agreement is a contract that stalls or stops the process of a hostile takeover. The action stops the current attack and gives the company time to take preventative measures against future takeovers.
Shares in Yingde, which supplies gases such as oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, added 25 HK cents to close at HK$5.30 in Hong Kong on Wednesday, chalking up an 84.7 per cent gain for the year to date.
“Having considered the views received from shareholders and in order to press on with due diligence, the company has decided not to insist on signing the standstill agreement with Air Products or others and to start to grant access to its data room as from February 22, 2017,” Yingde said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Yingde’s majority board led by chairman Zhao Xiangti requested Air Products, seen by the market as the most likely bidder for the company, to sign a three-month standstill agreement before starting the due diligence process last week.
