Stork hoists the white flag

As the management will stay in place after the proposed takeover by Candover Investments, one has to ask why the buyout should be necessary in the first place.
Will the shareholders get full value and is it not a conflict of interest when existing management is involved in buyout or merger discussions?
The campaign by 'activist' shareholders Centaurus and Paulson has not succeeded in the stated aim of breaking up the company to 'realise shareholder value'. But it has driven management into the arms of a white knight and resulted in a sizeable short-term profit to the two funds.
It is questionable that these two funds - which together controlled 33% of the outstanding shares - should be allowed to have such a large role in the future of a company. While the company has been built up over a long period and should plan with a time horizon of years funds such as Centaurus or Paulson can be in and out of the stock at the push of a button and have no responsibility to employees, customers or the other shareholders.