EP Global Commerce, the investment vehicle of the Czech/Slovak duo Daniel Křetinský and Patrik Tkáč appear to have failed in their bid to take over German retail giant Metro. In July, they made an offer to buy out Metro shareholders at a price (€16 per share) that valued the company at €5.8bn). The company’s management recommended the bid be rejected, claiming the price was too low. The bid by EPGC, which claims to already control 20.56 percent of the company’s shares, would only come into effect if it could boost its shareholding to 67.5 percent by August 7. “EPGC appreciates the tone and the atmosphere of the discussions and regrets that they weren’t successful,” wrote the company. “Going forward, however, we believe that this offer represents a unique opportunity for all shareholders to sell their shares at an attractive price.” Metro operates 13 Makro cash and carry stores in the Czech Republic, a fraction of the 770 it has in a total of 26 countries.
