Destination Maternity rejects takeover bid

Destination Maternity Corp. has turned down an offer from a French company that disclosed a 13.1% stake in the U.S. company, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday.



The nation’s largest retailer of maternity apparel rejected an offer from children’s clothing company Orchestra-Premaman, which manufactures clothing for children and infants, saying the request for talks regarding a potential acquisition were not in the best interests of Destination Maternity shareholders.



"After serious consideration, and based on the preliminary discussions, the Board unanimously decided that pursuing the stock-merger proposal would not be in the best interests of our stockholders considering the risks inherent in a primarily stock based merger transaction dependent on uncertain revenue synergies," said Arnaud Ajdler, chairman of the board of Destination Maternity.



Orchestra-Premaman said in a regulatory filing Monday that it had made a cash-and-stock offer for Destination Maternity in October that was spurned, the Wall Street Journal reported. It sent a new letter to Destination Maternity’s board on Sunday informing it of its investment and reiterating its interest in starting talks.