UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington
,
DC 20549
SCHEDULE 14D-9/A
SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT
UNDER
SECTION 14(d)(4) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934
(Amendment No. 6)
ELSTER GROUP SE
(Name of Subject Company)
ELSTER GROUP SE
(Name of Person(s) Filing Statement)
Ordinary Shares, nominal value €1
per share
American Depositary Shares, each representing
one-fourth of one Ordinary Share
(Title of Class of Securities)
D24648 103
290348 101
(CUSIP Number of Class of Securities)
John D. Bluth
Elster Solutions, LLC
208 South Rogers Lane
Raleigh, NC 27610-2144
+1 (919) 212-4700
(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person Authorized to Receive
Notice and Communications on Behalf of the Person(s) Filing Statement)
With a copy to:
A. Peter Harwich
|
Thomas Preute
|
Allen & Overy LLP
|
Chief Legal Officer
|
1221 Avenue of the Americas
|
Elster Group SE
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New York, New York 10020
|
Frankenstrasse 362
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+1 (212) 610-6300
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45133 Essen, Germany
|
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+49 201 54 58 0
|
o
Check the box if the filing relates solely to preliminary communications made before the commencement of a tender offer.
This
Amendment No. 6 (this “
Amendment
”) amends and supplements the Solicitation/Recommendation
Statement on Schedule 14D-9 initially filed by Elster Group SE, a European public limited liability company (
Societas Europaea
,
or SE) with its registered seat in Germany (“
Elster
”) with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (the “
SEC
”) on July 9, 2012 and amended by Amendment
No. 1 to the Schedule 14D-9 filed with the SEC on July 10, 2012, Amendment No. 2 to the Schedule 14D-9 filed with the SEC on July
16, 2012, Amendment No. 3 to the Schedule 14D-9 filed with the SEC on July 17, 2012, Amendment No. 4 to the Schedule 14D-9 filed
with the SEC on July 24, 2012, and Amendment No. 5 to the Schedule 14D-9 filed with the SEC on August 3, 2012 (as previously filed
with the SEC, and as amended, the “
Schedule 14D-9
”) relating to the cash tender
offer by Mintford AG, a stock corporation established under German law, registered in the commercial register of the local court
of Düsseldorf, Germany, under HRB 65980 (“
Bidder
”) and an indirect wholly
owned subsidiary of Melrose PLC, a public limited company incorporated under the laws of the United Kingdom and registered in England
and Wales with registered number 4763064 (“
Melrose
”), to purchase (i) all
issued and outstanding American Depositary Shares of Elster (“
ADSs
”), each
representing one-fourth of one ordinary share of Elster, nominal value €1 per share (“
Share
”)
at a purchase price of $20.50 per ADS (the “
ADS Offer Price
”), and (ii) all
issued and outstanding Shares (which are not otherwise represented by ADSs) at a purchase price of $82.00 per Share (the “
Share
Offer Price
”, the ADS Offer Price or the Share Offer Price, as applicable, the “
Offer
Price
”), in each case payable net to the seller in cash, without interest and subject to
any withholding of taxes required by applicable law. The tender offer is disclosed in the Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO
(together with the exhibits thereto, as it may be amended or supplemented, the “
Schedule TO
”),
filed by Bidder and Melrose with the SEC on July 9, 2012, and is upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the
Offer to Purchase dated July 9, 2012 (as it may be amended or supplemented, the “
Offer to Purchase
”),
and in the Letter of Transmittal to Tender American Depositary Shares (as it may be amended or supplemented, the “
ADS
Letter of Transmittal
”) and the Letter of Transmittal to Tender Ordinary Shares (as it
may be amended or supplemented, the “
Share Letter of Transmittal
”, and, together
with the ADS Letter of Transmittal, the “
Letter of Transmittal
”, and such
Letter of Transmittal, together with the Offer to Purchase, the “
Offer
”),
copies of which were filed as Exhibits (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), and (a)(1)(C), respectively, to the Schedule TO, and are incorporated
herein by reference. Any capitalized term used and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in
the Schedule 14D-9.
Except
as otherwise set forth below, the information set forth in the Schedule 14D-9 remains unchanged and is incorporated by reference
as relevant to the items in this Amendment. This Amendment is being filed to reflect certain updates as reflected below.
Item 8. Additional Information
Item 8 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented
by adding the following at the end of Item 8:
“
Extension of Offer Period
Melrose is extending
the Offer to provide additional time for the receipt of antitrust clearances in Russia and Ukraine, which are conditions to
the consummation of the Offer that are not expected to be satisfied as of 12:00 Midnight, New York City time, on August 8,
2012, the previously scheduled expiration time, but which are expected to be received during August 2012. The Offer is being
extended to 12:00 Midnight, New York City time, on August 16, 2012 with the consent of Elster.
As of 5:00 pm New York
City time on August 7, 2012, 17,412,069 Shares and 7,979,381 ADSs had been tendered. These Shares and ADSs represent
collectively approximately 68.77% of total share capital of Elster as of such time.
On August 8, 2012, Melrose issued
a press release announcing the extension of the expiration time until 12:00 Midnight, New York City time, on August 16, 2012, a
copy of which is filed as Exhibit (a)(5)(E) to the Schedule TO and is incorporated herein by reference.”
Item 9. Exhibits
Item
9
of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the following exhibit.
Exhibit No.
|
|
Document
|
(a)(5)(F)
|
|
Press release issued by Melrose PLC on August 8, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(5)(E) to the Schedule TO).
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SIGNATURES
After due inquiry and to the best of our
knowledge and belief, we certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.
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Elster Group SE
|
|
|
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By:
|
/s/ Thomas Preute
|
|
Name:
|
Thomas Preute
|
|
Title:
|
Managing Director and Chief Legal Officer
|
|
Date:
|
August 8, 2012
|
|
|
|
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By:
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/s/ Bradley Fry
|
|
Name:
|
Bradley Fry
|
|
Title:
|
Authorized Signatory and VP International Accounting
|
|
Date:
|
August 8, 2012
|
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit No.
|
|
Document
|
(a)(5)(F)
|
|
Press release issued by Melrose PLC on August 8, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(5)(E) to the Schedule TO).
|
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