Rumour mill - Is TomTom looking to delist?

[Darren]

Dutch Business Magazine 'Management Team' is running a story suggesting that TomTom's four founders are considering a bid to buy back all the shares in the company and delist from the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.

Harold Goddijn, Corinne Vigreux, Pieter Geelen and Peter-Frans Pouwels hold 47 percent of the shares with investment funds Cyrte Investments BV and Janivo Holding accounting for a further 10 percent. The remaining shares, some 43 percent, are freely traded.

Quite how this move would benefit the company, or the founders, has not been explained. The rumours have sent TomTom stock (TOM2) soaring, gaining 24 percent at one point before falling back to 16 percent.

Source: Management Team

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Darren Griffin

[tomtom_shareholder]

The magazine just issued an article about why the company would like to delist. It's Dutch, but you all know Google translate.

http://www.mt.nl/337/61310/strategie/5-redenen-waarom-tomtom-van-de-beurs-wil.html

[MaFt]

ready-converted to english: in english

MaFt

[M8TJT]

Been better if it had been in real English.
I wonder what our member tomtomshareholder will have to say about this one then?

[AliOnHols]

[tomtom_shareholder]

The article claims there could be five reasons for TomTom wanting to de-list.

One of these reasons is that delisting can prevent them from being acquired by a tech company. The founders want to keep fate in their own hands.

Another quite general reason is that shareprice is now at a lowpoint, while tomtom is in a 'transition'.

Transition stands for a) growing more in content and services (maps, traffic, speedcams, poi, software) rather than hardware b) growing in the automotive segment like they do with customers like Renault, c) expanding products and services to emerging markets, like they recently launched PND's in India and mentioned they will release HD traffic in 20 urban area's in China by the end of 2013. d) growing the business segment (fleet tracking), and some other initiatives like growing a fitness segment, like Garmin has, and licensing maps to smartphone vendors (Samsung?).

Shareprice is low, because shareholders are looking more at the current quarterly results (short term) and the loss of PND revenues, rather than the opportunities and future revenues from a transition. Which makes it cheap to buy the company and de-list it. It's also low because people tend to regard tomtom as a company loaded with debt, but actually in 2013 their net debt is gone, because of good progress in the 'redemption programme'.

Other things that are mentioned is the hassle of being listed. Like having to report quarterly results, being misunderstood by both shareholders and financial people, and also not having to share information that is they regard sensitive for competitive reasons.

I think the sources are quite close to TomTom. So I think it is very likely that TomTom's management is 'considering' the option. Still, considering does not necessarily mean that they will do it. Neither does it say when.

[M8TJT]

Thank You

[andy-c1]

they only have themselves to blame ,always removing good features, not listening to their customers and not bringing out working machines and then the tomtom home software ..
I wouldn't want to see tomtom go under though as their machines when working are great.
If they want to succeed they will have to start listening their customers and test their machines till they are working before selling them...I refused to buy the 1000 because they took away google search and had a load of problems in the beginning ,Still have a 750 and is working fine so no need to update yet
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TomTom 5001

[UsuallyLost]

TomTom seem to have totally missed the Android market too!
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iPhone 5 with TomTom Western Europe and Australia.
iPad mini with TomTom Western Europe

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