P&G hit with additional €230m bill for 2003 Wella acquisition

Published: 20-Aug-2010

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.

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