P&G hit with additional €230m bill for 2003 Wella acquisition
US group to appeal Frankfurt ruling
Procter & Gamble will have to pay about 23% more to minority shareholders for the 2003 acquisition of the German hairdressing and hair cosmetics group Wella after a German court decision.
The US group acquired Wella for about €6.5bn but a Frankfurt tribunal has said that P&G must pay €16.97 more for preferential shares and €16.46 more for ordinary shares. The shareholders argued that they had been paid only €72.86 per share when the Stroeher family which owned the Wella group had obtained €92.25 per share.
A total of about 13 million shares and the legal expenses of the action are estimated to bring the bill for P&G to over €230m, possibly €250 million. The US group has announced its intention to appeal.