The company, which employs about 23 000 people in The Netherlands, the UK, Germany and the rest of the world, issued protective shares on Tuesday to fend off Dutch dredging contractor Boskalis.
The manoeuvre 鈥� known as a 鈥減oisoned pill鈥� 鈥� effectively makes HBG safe from another hostile bid because one of its subsidiaries, Stichting HBG, now has 50% of the company鈥檚 voting shares.
Any company looking to buy HBG would have to acquire more than half of its total shares.
But analysts say a number of investors in HBG are 鈥渟pitting blood鈥� at the poison pill, adding that the company鈥檚 management is now under severe pressure to rationalise all its businesses.
This is likely to mean job losses at the company鈥檚 four UK-based construction subsidiaries: Higgs & Hill, Kyle Stewart, GA and civils arm Edmund Nuttall.
They have to prove to shareholders that their share price is not going to plunge analyst
One analyst said: 鈥淭hey now have to do everything possible to prove to their shareholders that they are making drastic improvements and that their share price is not going to plunge.鈥� He added: 鈥淭he UK business, along with the others, will have to sweat even harder.鈥�
HBG does about 拢800m of construction in the UK every year. The British businesses are regarded as relatively successful and make margins after tax of more than 2%.
However, HBG鈥檚 profit has been badly dented by what analysts describe as the 鈥渄isastrous鈥� acquisition of Germany鈥檚 ninth largest contractor Wayss & Freytag for 拢81m in 1996. Losses and write-downs at the new business caused HBG鈥檚 shares to fall sharply. This has made HBG a target for predators.
Boskalis is thought to have been in talks with HBG for 18 months. Analysts believe that relations between the two have broken down, although Boskalis could still try to broker an agreed bid. The other possibility is that a 鈥渨hite knight鈥� could emerge.
The analyst said: 鈥淚t seems HBG are prepared to do anything to avoid being taken over. But they will now have to try harder to improve group wide to compensate for the situation at Wayss & Freytag.鈥�
