Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/11/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I'm new to the lUG, but have been reading it extensively for a while. Thought I'd make first contribution with this interesting story my agency (I'm a journalist) put out this morning. Maybe Hermes will start making handbags, or Leica will produce luxury fashion accessories :-) Germany-France-luxury French luxury group Hermes plans bid for stake in Leica Camera SOLMS, Germany, Nov 20 (AFP) - Hermes International SCA, the French maker of luxury goods, plans to launch a bid to buy 30 percent of Leica Camera, the German camera maker said on Monday. Hermes plans to offer 12.50 euros per share or a total 17 million euros (14.6 million dollars) for the stake in a friendly bid, Leica Camera said in a statement. A deal would strengthen a "entrepreneurial partnership" that the two companies plan to enter, said Leica Camera chairman Hanns-Peter Cohn and Hermes president Jean-Louis Dumas. The offer prices represents a premium of 30 percent over the average price of Leica Camera shares during the past three months. The German group said that it regarded the price as "attractive" and a "fair valuation" and recommended shareholders to accept the offer. The offer runs from November 22 to December 20. At the same time, Leica Camera published its earnings for the six months to September. The group's net loss widened to 3.43 million euros in the period from April to September, compared with a loss of 2.36 million euros a year earlier as a results of one-off factors and the weakness of the euro, the company said. Sales grew by 15.7 percent to 72.35 million euros. Measures to boost profitability plus strong second-half sales growth would ensure that Leica Camera would still post a profit for the full year, even if earnings growth would not be as strong as originally expected, it said. spm/hd __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Get organized for the holidays! http://calendar.yahoo.com/