Kingspan, the Irish insulation titan, has officially acquired 35.7 per cent stake in Nordic Waterproofing, a Swedish producer of building waterproofing materials. Although the majority of the company’s board and shareholders turned down Kingspan’s initial acquisition offer, the firm’s stock in Nordic Waterproofing surpassed the crucial 30 per cent benchmark, prompting Kingspan to make a compulsory cash offer of €229 million in October.
However, Nordic Waterproofing’s board suggested in February that its shareholders remain unresponsive to the offer. Following the acceptance period for the offer, which concluded on 27 March 2024, the bid was approved by shareholders representing 1,144,220 Nordic Waterproofing shares. This equates to around 4.8 per cent of the company’s total shares and votes, lifting Kingspan’s overall investment to 35.7 per cent, as per the company’s statement.
Gene Murtagh, Kingspan’s CEO, ruled out the possibility of increasing the offer from the original 160 Swedish kronor per share (approximately €13.88) when the company disclosed its 2023 results in February. The intention behind the acquisition was to bolster Kingspan’s roofing and waterproofing sector, which observed nearly €500 million in sales last year, representing roughly 6 per cent of the company’s total €8.1 billion. Previously, Kingspan entered this field in 2022 by purchasing Ondura, a French company specialized in commercial building roofing and waterproofing, for €550 million. This was quickly followed by the acquisition of Belgian equivalent Derbigum for a sum of €95 million.