Safilo withdraws acquisition offer for Inspecs Group.

Safilo has officially confirmed that it will not proceed with a binding offer to acquire British business Inspecs Group plc. This announcement follows Inspecs' disclosure on December 10 regarding Bidco 1125 Limited's proposal to acquire it for 84 pence per share.

The Italian eyewear group, based in Padua, first expressed interest in acquiring Inspecs last October. At that time, Safilo made an initial approach regarding a potential acquisition of specific Inspecs assets, namely Eschenbach Group and BoDe. Subsequently, Safilo submitted two possible non-binding cash offers to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Inspecs; however, both proposals were rejected by Inspecs.

Following its decision not to make a binding offer, Safilo issued an announcement pursuant to Rule 2.8 of the Takeover Code. As a result, the company stated that it will be subject to certain restrictions for a period of six months, unless the Panel consents otherwise. These restrictions prevent Safilo, along with any acting parties, from announcing an offer or possible offer for Inspecs or from acquiring any interest in Inspecs shares that would confer 30% or more of the voting rights in the British company.

Safilo noted that, pursuant to Note 2 of Rule 2.8 of the Takeover Code, it reserves the right to depart from these restrictions under specific circumstances. These exceptions include: if a third party (other than Bidco 1125) announces a firm intention to make an offer for Inspecs; if Inspecs announces a proposed waiver of Rule 9 (relating to the obligation to make a mandatory takeover offer) subject to independent shareholder approval, or a reverse takeover as defined in the Takeover Code; or if the Takeover Panel determines there has been a material change of circumstances.