The Endress+Hauser Group, a leader in measurement instrumentation, services and solutions for industrial process engineering, is set to complete takeover of Germany-based Analytik Jena.

The group is also interested in buying shares, said a statement.

Dr Heiner Zehntner, legal counsel and member of the executive board, Endress+Hauser Group and supervisory board member of Analytik Jena, said: “We are still prepared to acquire shares at a reasonable price.”

Endress+Hauser is using the expired mandatory offer of €14 ($15.6) per bearer share, given in 2013, as a yardstick for the time being.

“This is a fair valuation, considering the company’s financial situation,” stressed Dr Zehntner.

At the end of March, Analytik Jena left the regulated market at Frankfurt stock exchange. Its shareholders wishing to sell their shares in the company to Endress+Hauser should mandate their bank counselor accordingly, he said.

Currently Endress+Hauser directly holds about 92 per cent of the shares and voting rights in Analytik Jena. As the next step, the group intends to make is to buy out the remaining minor shareholders (squeeze-out).

“We’ve made it clear right from the start that we aim for the complete takeover of Analytik Jena. We announced the withdrawal from the regulated market at an early point, and now we also want to notify the remaining shareholders in good time of our future plans,” Dr Zehntner added. - TradeArabia News Service