DP Eurasia N.V. (LSE:DPEU), a master owner of the Domino’s Pizza Group PLC franchise in the Middle East, said on Friday that it has appointed an adviser to assess a takeover bid from Jubilant Foodworks.
Jubilant Foodworks said on Tuesday that it intended to make a bid for the company at an offer price of 85 pence for every ordinary share in DP Eurasia.
DP Eurasia said it has appointed investment bank Liberum Capital as its financial adviser to evaluate the proposal.
In a statement on Friday, the company’s board said it is “extremely disappointed that Jubilant Foodworks decided to proceed in this unsolicited and opportunistic way”, without attempting to agree on terms that would satisfy the board and its shareholders.
The board has advised shareholders to “take no action” and said it will outline its formal position early next week, adding that it sought to “protect the interests” of minority shareholders and other stakeholders.
Jubilant Foodworks already holds more than half of the shares in DP Eurasia, about 53.53% as of yesterday, and owns a master franchise of the Domino’s pizza chain in Asia.
While DP Eurasia operates the Domino’s franchise in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia, Jubilant Foodworks owns a franchise of the pizza chain in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Jubilant said it is required to launch a mandatory offer for the remainder of the company within a month of hitting the threshold of becoming a majority owner.