Securitas extends time frame for offer

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Securitas has extended the time frame for its offer to buy Niscayah from July 18 to August 12, but—despite rumors to the contrary—it will not raise its $907 million bid, Gisela Lindstrand, senior vice president corporate communications and public affairs told Security Systems News on July 6.

“When we set the first date we did not know how long the [European Commission anti-monopoly approval] filing would take,” she said. Securitas learned that the EC had until August 4 to issue approval, and it also wanted to enable shareholders to see Securitas' second quarter financial result, which will be released on August 5. “So we decided to extend the offer for another week [beyond the August 5 release of the financial results.”

The Niscayah Board of Directors has unanimously recommended that shareholders approve the rival $1.2 billion offer from Stanley Black & Decker. The Stanley offer commences on July 25 and is currently set to expire on July 29. To accept a bid, 90 percent of Niscayah shares will need to be tendered.

The decision to extend the time frame for the offer was unrelated to Stanley's offer, Lindstrand said, emphasizing that Securitas has no intention of upping its offer.

“We have done our homework; this is the best offer we will give. We will absolutely not raise our bid,” she said. Securitas wants to increase its in-house integration capabilities and Niscayah “is our prime target,” she said. If Securitas does not succeed in acquiring Niscayah, “there are several smaller companies available on the market that we are looking at,” she said. Most of those companies are in Europe, but there are some small companies in North America that Securitas has identified as targets as well.

Lindstrand noted that Melker Schorling, chairman of the board of Securitas, has said that should the Securitas/Niscayah deal not go through, the two companies would continue to do business. Indeed Securitas is now one of Niscayah's biggest clients in Europe. Lindstrand estimated Securitas' business accounts for 8 to 9 percent of Niscayah's European revenues.

Schorling and Gustaf Douglas are Securitas' largest shareholders. They are also among the top six owners in Niscayah, according to Bloomberg. Douglas and Schorling both endorsed the Securitas bid for Niscayah when it was announced on May 16. They have not issued any comment on the Stanley bid, Lindstrand said.