Ppr Says Gucci Offer Not Valid For Italy Residents

[stylegurrl]

REUTERS

 

[Acid]

please could you post the article instead of posting links in future please

thanks

 

[mikeijames]

PPR says Gucci offer not valid for Italy residents
Sat May 1, 2004 05:42 AM ET
PARIS, May 1 (Reuters) - French retail group Pinault Printemps Redoute (PRTP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) said late on Friday its buy-out offer for Gucci (GCCI.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) was not valid for shareholders in the Italian luxury goods firm resident in Italy.
In a statement issued following a request by Italy's securities regulator Consob, PPR quoted a clause in its buy-out offer which said the bid could be restricted or prohibited by legislation in some jurisdictions.

"This wording in the offer document was aimed at excluding all jurisdictions, including Italy, where the application of this offer would not be legally valid," PPR said in the statement.

"Given the fact that this offer was never aimed at being intended for residents of Italy, no Gucci (share) certificate presented by Gucci shareholders resident in Italy will be processed," PPR said.

PPR issued the statement after receiving an order from Consob seeking to suspend the offer for Gucci shareholders resident in Italy, saying the terms of the tender did not conform with Italian regulations.

PPR said on Thursday it had secured 99.23 percent of Gucci's shares. The group's stipulation that the offer is not valid to shareholders resident in Italy could slightly reduce the amount of shares PPR has obtained in Gucci.

Owned by French retail magnate Francois Pinault, PPR intends to delist Gucci from the Amsterdam and New York exchanges as it becomes a division within Europe's biggest non-food retailer, with interests stretching from French department stores to an African trading company.