The first witness to testify in the Air Products v. Airgas trial webcast live by CVN was Air Products CFO Paul Huck, who has led the acquisition effort for Air Products.
Mr. Huck told the court that after Air Products lost in the Delaware Supreme Court, they viewed themselves as having three options: walking away, holding a special meeting, or raising the offer to their best and final offer.
Air Products rejected the possibility of holding a special meeting, said Mr. Huck, because their advisors told them that getting to 67% was an "impossible task" and that no one had ever removed a board with a special meeting.
So their best option, said Mr. Huck, was to make their best and final offer, and try to convince the Delaware Court of Chancery that that best and final offer was not a threat to shareholders under Unocal.
Air Products was unwilling to wait any longer to consummate the deal, according to Mr. Huck, because they had other options, and the Air Products shareholders had long carried the burden of the reduced price of Air Products stock due to deal uncertainty.
Watch CVN's live webcast of air Products ongoing effort to acquire Airgas in Air Products v. Airgas.
