Reject

Report: Half of VNU Shareholders Set to Reject Takeover

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 31, 2006 - 8:16am.
Amsterdam - According to a report by the Financial Times, about half of VNU's shareholders are planning to reject a $9.1 billion takeover bid recently tabled by a group of private-equity firms. VNU is the owner magazines including Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter. The private-equity group, which includes Blackstone, Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is expected to launch its bid for VNU formally sometime next week. Quoting unnamed sources familiar with the situation, the Financial Times said that a number of shareholders -- including Fidelity International, which owns around 15% of the Netherlands-based market research firm -- would not support the offer.