In a statement made to the US Securities Exchange Commission, Terex said: “Terex has informed Fantuzzi that it believes that a material adverse change may exist with respect to the Fantuzzi business or other grounds exist which may preclude completion of this acquisition. Terex has requested that Fantuzzi provide Terex with additional information in order to determine whether a material adverse change has in fact occurred and whether all conditions precedent to the obligations of Terex to complete the acquisition of the Fantuzzi business have been satisfied. Terex has had an initial discussion with Fantuzzi and the final outcome of this matter can not be determined at this time.” Terex has not provided any more details of its concerns.
The European Commission announced that it had approved the proposed EUR215m acquisition on 19 November; Terex announced its concerns to the SEC two days later, on 21 November. Reuters reports that Fantuzzi has issued a statement saying it is ‘extremely surprised’ by Terex’s announcement.
When the deal was first proposed, Fantuzzi had missed a EUR55m bond repayment. Creditors had agreed to hold off from taking action until January 2009. It is unclear how the failure of the deal would affect Fantuzzi’s relationship with its creditors.
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Correction: A mistake in a short-lived earlier headline for this story may have been misleading. Hopefully the rest of the article, and subsequent changes, have clarified the story.
