DCC Gets Sweetened Takeover Bid From KKR, ECP

KKR & Co. and Energy Capital Partners have sweetened their bid for DCC Plc to more than £5.7 billion ($7.6 billion) and bought extra time to complete what has become a drawn-out takeover process.

(Bloomberg) — KKR & Co. and Energy Capital Partners have sweetened their bid for DCC Plc to more than £5.7 billion ($7.6 billion) and bought extra time to complete what has become a drawn-out takeover process. The consortium is maintaining its offer of £66.72 a share, including a dividend, according to a statement Thursday. But shareholders stand to receive up to £1.25 per share if DCC achieves at least $800 million from the sale of its technology distribution business Nexora.

DCC, a provider of energy sales and distribution across Europe and the US, said in June that it was prepared to accept KKR and ECP’s takeover offer. In an unusual move, a bid deadline was extended by 14 hours on Wednesday as the consortium made a late tweak to the proposal. The improved offer comes after Aviva Investors and Fidelity International, two of DCC’s largest shareholders, voiced opposition to the deal, saying the buyout firms were undervaluing DCC.

DCC’s board is near to a final signoff of the transaction, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday. Except for the Nexora adjustment, the bidders have completed confirmatory due diligence and definitive transaction documentation has been substantially agreed, according to Thursday’s statement. A sale of Dublin-headquartered DCC would mark the departure of one of the last Irish companies trading on the FTSE 100 index after firms including CRH Plc and Flutter Entertainment Plc sought US listings.

DCC distributes fuel and gas to commercial and industrial, public and domestic sectors across Europe and the US, its website shows. KKR has been notably active in UK deals. It won a bidding war over Spectris Plc, a maker of precision testing equipment, last year, with a £4.2 billion offer that topped rival Advent’s bid.

It was also among a swathe of potential bidders for the controlling stake in Associated British Ports, Bloomberg reported in April. The consortium now has until July 27 to table a firm offer. (Corrects spelling of DCC in second paragraph.)