Takeover battle for Germanischer Lloyd heats up

Takeover battle for Germanischer Lloyd heats up The French classification society Bureau Veritas (BV) said Monday it will make an improved offer for its Hamburg-based competitor, Germanischer Lloyd (GL).
   The announcement comes in the wake of a shareholders meeting Friday where GL shareholders representing more than 90 percent of the capital stock considered an offer by the Hamburg businessman G'nter Herz.
   In a statement GL had characterized the offer from Herz as “friendly” in contrast to the offer by BV, which it called 'hostile.'
   GL said shareholders asked its executive board to provide more in-depth information about the future of the group’s business.
   The British shipping magazine Lloyds List quoted sources as saying said GL shareholders made 'aggressively worded attacks' on management during the meeting.
   GL said a second meeting will be held next week where shareholders will examine specific details of the proposed combination.
   BV said it wants to 'combine the strengths of the two societies to create a new global leader in ship classification, based in Hamburg.'
   The chief executive of BV said: 'We believe the prospects of obtaining the approval of Germanischer Lloyd shareholders are favorable. We have submitted what we consider to be the best solution for shareholders, in every respect. In our opinion, none of the competing bidders is in a position to make a comparable bid on either a strategic or an operative level.”
   Reportedly, the Norwegian classification society Det Norske Veritas and the British group Lloyds Register have discussed buying minority stakes or cooperation agreements with GL.
   Separately, Lloyds List reports Lloyds Register is discussing a closer relationship with the Hellenic Registry of Shipping.