The majority shareholder of Tarkett wants to launch a takeover bid to withdraw it from the quotation

The Deconinck family, majority shareholder of Tarkett, has joined forces with the investment company Wendel to buy back the remainder of the group's capital and withdraw it from the Paris Stock Exchange where it is currently listed.

"The Deconinck family has decided to strengthen its control through a simplified public tender offer (OPAS) on the shares of Tarkett, with the support of Wendel," said a statement from the flooring manufacturer published on Friday.

"The strengthening of the control of the family and the contribution of Wendel, a leading partner, will allow Tarkett to continue its committed transformation and seize new opportunities", specified Fabrice Barthélemy, Chairman of the Management Board of Tarkett, quoted in the document.

The Deconinck family currently owns 50,8% of Tarkett's capital. It transferred its shares to Tarkett Participation, a company in which Wendel will invest to hold up to 30% of the capital.

Tarkett Participation will offer a price of 20 euros per Tarkett share, which represents "a premium of 25,8% over the last closing price".

The offer should be "open at the end of June and finalized by the end of July".

At its end, if the legal conditions are met, Tarkett Participation intends to implement a squeeze-out procedure in order to withdraw the Tarkett share from the Stock Exchange.

Tarkett, which published its quarterly results at the same time on Friday evening, acknowledged a "difficult" start to the year. The group achieved an adjusted gross operating profit of 34 million euros, down nearly 20%, for a turnover of 560 million euros (-8,5%).

It is facing a "slow restart of the commercial sector" as well as a rise in the prices of raw materials and transport.

Last year, Tarkett recorded a net loss of 19,1 million euros due to asset write-downs in connection with the health crisis.