Metro AG board rejects Czecho-Slovak takeover bid

EP Global Commerce, an investment group owned by a pair of Czecho-Slovak business moguls, has made a takeover offer of €5.8bn for the German retailer Metro AG. However, the company's board of directors is reportedly rebuffing the offer on the grounds that it undervalues the company and recommended that shareholders turn the offer down. Owned by Daniela Křetínsky and Patrik Tkáč, EPGC currently holds an 11 percent stake in the company. It offered a reported €16 per share, which is 34 percent more than it paid for shares in the company when it bought them last September. EPGC claims to have the support of some shareholders and to have acquired options for further shares from others. Metro operates more than 760 stores in 25 countries and employs more than 100,000 people.