Osram Board Recommends Accepting the AMS Offer

From a financial perspective, ams's offer is attractive, and is therefore recommended;

However, within the board, some expressed concerns;

Osram announced on September 16 that the board recommends accepting the AMS offer.

On September 3, 2019, AMS AG, headquartered in Premstätten, Austria, issued a voluntary public takeover offer to acquire all shares of OSRAM Licht AG at a price of EUR 38.50 per share. After careful review and thorough consideration of all the pros and cons arising from the obligations stipulated by law, the majority of members of OSRAM's Management Board and Supervisory Board recommended in their reasoned opinion that OSRAM shareholders accept the offer. The financial attractiveness of the proposal outweighed the criticism.

Despite the financial attractiveness of the takeover offer, both the Management Board and the Supervisory Board expressed concerns about the AMS acquisition. In the process of transforming OSRAM from a vertically integrated lighting specialist into a high-tech optoelectronics specialist, both bodies favored a private ownership structure. In addition, there were still some unresolved strategic issues between OSRAM and AMS that needed further coordination, particularly with regard to business consistency, global positioning strategy, synergy potential, and integration concept. The Management Board and Supervisory Board considered it very important that a qualified and motivated integration team composed of AMS and OSRAM employees must establish a professional concept and implement it in strictly managed projects.

In summary, the majority of the members of the Management Board and Supervisory Board considered that the strategy pursued by AMS was promising in many respects, particularly with regard to the further development of the optoelectronic semiconductor business. By merging with AMS, this business division could benefit from the development of innovative sensor and photonics solutions, as well as from leveraging established customer access, among other things.

According to other foreign media reports, OSRAM CEO Olaf Berlien opposed the acquisition by Austrian sensor manufacturer AMS on financial grounds, a position that put him at odds with both OSRAM boards. OSRAM stated: "As Chairman of the Board, he places greater emphasis on his continued interest in the resilient business strategy pursued by the Board, taking into account all stakeholders rather than his short-term economic interests as an individual shareholder." (Source: China Light Network)