With the initial offering period closed, Manitou BF S.A., Ancenis, France, announced it has acquired all outstanding shares of Gehl Company common stock. In addition to the 1.7 million shares it already owned, Manitou purchased nearly 9 million shares at $30 per share and now owns 89 percent of Gehl's common stock.
Following the acquisition, Manitou's wholly-owned subsidiary Tenedor Corp., which made the tender offer, has commenced a subsequent offering period for the remaining 1.3 million shares of Gehl common stock at the same $30 per share price to permit shareholders who have not yet tendered their shares the opportunity to do so. Procedures for tendering shares during the subsequent offering period are the same as during the initial offering period with two exceptions: Shares cannot be delivered by the guaranteed delivery procedure, and shares tendered during the subsequent offering period may not be withdrawn. The subsequent offering period will expire at 12 p.m. EST on Oct. 24, 2008, unless further extended.
Manitou expects to merge Tenedor and Gehl as soon as possible, making Gehl a wholly-owned subsidiary of Manitou. As a result, Manitou and Tenedor's ownership of more than 66 percent of Gehl's outstanding shares will allow them to control the necessary votes to assure shareholder approval of the merger. They are required by the merger agreement to vote their shares in favor of approving the merger. If Manitou and Tenedor are able to purchase the additional shares during the subsequent offering period, they will own at least 90 percent of the outstanding shares, and the merger can be affected without the need for a meeting of Gehl's shareholders.
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