Meet the woman behind the €1.4bn Dalata buyout coup
Even Alf Smiddy, a senior independent director at Dalata up to 2021, and a critic of the proposed deal, saluted Pandox and its largest shareholder, Eiendomsspar, for the 'textbook execution' of a takeover bid. 'They played a blinder — confident, fast, savvy and strategic,' Smiddy posted on LinkedIn last week. He is dismayed, however, at the 'surrender of the Dalata board'.
Eiendomsspar, which owns 36 per cent of Stockholm-quoted Pandox, teed up the transaction. It built a stake in the owner of the Clayton and Maldron hotel brands in the wake of a capital markets day last October. Five months later, the board of Dalata announced a strategic review, including a formal sales process (FSP). 'That opened up the opportunity to Pandox,' Nõu says.
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