Oce holder Hermes drops fight against Canon bid
AMSTERDAM |
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Hermes Focus Asset Management has dropped its opposition to a $1 billion offer by Canon Inc (7751.T) for Dutch photocopier and printing systems maker Oce OCEN.AS, paving the way for the deal to go through.
Hermes, which owns 3.3 percent of Oce, concluded that its "clients' interests are best served" by tendering the shares, it said in a statement.
Including Hermes' shares, Canon will be able to hold over 80 percent of Oce.
The acquisition comes amid a flurry of acquisitions in the office equipment industry, including Ricoh Co's (7752.T) takeover of U.S. distributor Ikon Office Solutions, and Xerox Corp's (XRX.N) purchase of Global Imaging.
Canon, the world's largest digital camera maker and a major producer of copiers and printers, has looked to the Oce deal as a way to generate earnings growth.
(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde, editing by Will Waterman)
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