Henkel sells Wella stake

German beauty care company Henkel has accepted a takeover offer from US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble for its 6.86 per cent stake in German haircare company Wella, the company said on Friday.

P&G, which already controls Wella through an agreement struck with the owners in March, gave other shareholders until 2200 GMT last Friday to accept its offer for their stock to complete the €5.6 billion ($6.6 billion) takeover.

P&G needs to win 95 per cent shareholder approval if it is to squeeze out remaining minority investors and delist Wella.

The initial tender period ran from 28 April to 28 May 2003. However an additional acceptance period, as required by German law, ran from 6 to 20 June 2003. P&G says the offer price of €92.25 per share for the voting shares and €65 per share for the preference shares will not change during this additional acceptance period.

Commenting at the time, Procter & Gamble's chief financial officer, Clayton Daley, said of the extension: "This additional two week acceptance period represents the final opportunity for Wella shareholders to accept P&G​'s tender offer. Beyond 20 June, we are under no obligation to acquire any further shares. We will begin to pursue the business objectives we announced on 18 March as soon as the appropriate regulatory approvals are obtained, regardless of the number of shares tendered."​