It took a little longer than we thought, but AZ Electronic Materials (AZEM), the Investors Chronicle's takeover tip of the year for 2012, has accepted an offer from German drugs giant Merck at a substantial premium to our tip price (249p, 5 Jan 2012).
IC TIP:
Hold
at
396p
Obviously, we're not surprised. AZ has been developing the business for decades, and its clever chemicals, used in iPads and smartphones, generate high margins and have enviable market share. Merck has decided to buy that expertise for almost £1.6bn, rather than try and replicate it in-house. AZ shareholders will get 403.5p per share in cash, not far off an all-time high and 62 per cent higher than our buy tip.
