Pelikan's German unit hires BNP Paribas to look at strategic options

Restructuring exercise: The Pelikan group had embarked on an exercise to consolidate its stationery sales and distribution businesses into Pelikan AG.

PETALING JAYA: Pelikan AG, the German-listed unit of stationery manufacturer Pelikan International Corp Bhd (PICB), has appointed investment bank BNP Paribas to look at “strategic options” for the company.

Pelikan AG, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, is 98.66% owned by PICB. Pelikan AG made the announcement through a filing with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

It is learnt that a teaser document had been issued by BNP Paribas to potential bidders for Pelikan AG.

It is unclear how much of Pelikan AG’s stake is for sale although sources said that the entire company could be sold “at the right price”.

Recall that Pelikan had been undergoing a restructuring exercise that dated back to 2014.

In June 2015, PICB was finalising a prospectus for the proposed offering of its shares in Pelikan AG. Yesterday’s announcement by Pelikan AG is a continuation of that plan.

The Pelikan group had embarked on an exercise to consolidate its stationery sales and distribution businesses into Pelikan AG (formerly known as Herlitz AG) to create a clearly defined organisational structure of management and business.

Upon completion, PICB had become a holding company of Pelikan AG.

Meanwhile, in April 2015, PICB had completed the asset-injection exercise of its core stationery sales and distribution assets into its then 70.9%-owned German-listed subsidiary Pelikan AG.

The deal, part of the group’s restructuring measures, was to see PICB raising RM462mil through an offer for sale and private placement of new shares issued by Pelikan AG.

The plan then was to make an offer for sale entailed up to 60 million Pelikan AG shares while the latter would also issue 32.9 million new shares.

This would have diluted PICB’s shareholdings in Pelikan AG to 65.4%. According to a April 2015 research report by Kenanga Research, the research house said that the assets injected included the core stationery sales units in Germany, Switzerland and Belgium from Europe, and Mexico, Argentina and Colombia from Latin America.

In 2014, an independent valuation done by PricewaterhouseCoopers Berlin valued the assets at 249.2 million euros (RM1.05bil).

Pelikan AG houses four core brands, namely, Pelikan, herlitz, Geha and Susy Card.