Switzerland: The board of directors of Sika has offered to buy out the stake of the Burkard-Schenker family in order to end a battle caused by the family's intention to sell its controlling stake to Saint-Gobain. Sika's chairman Paul Haelg announced plans to buy the family shares, in an interview with newspapers NZZ am Sonntag and Schweiz, saying that after a two-year dispute it has become obvious that no solution can be reached if all sides work against each other.
The announcement follows a ruling by the Cantonal Court of Zug on 28 October 2016 that blocked the sale of Burkard-Schenker's shares to Saint-Gobain. The family holds 16.4% of the capital and 52.6% of the voting rights of Sika. Saint-Gobain reacted to the ruling by saying that its board of directors continues to want to buy Sika and that agreement with the Burkard family is valid until June 2017 and can be extended until December 2018.
