Zurich, June 25 - Shareholders in Swiss flavours and fragrances maker Givaudan snapped up more than 99 percent of new shares in a rights issue, the company said on Thursday.
Givaudan said earlier this month it would issue new shares at a hefty discount to reduce debt from a $2.25 billion acquisition as it struggles to improve sales hit by the economic downturn.
Shareholders were entitled to two new shares for every 15 existing shares they hold, at a price of 420 Swiss francs each, a discount of around 40 percent to Givaudan's closing share price in the prior session.
The remaining 3,136 new shares for which subscription rights were not exercised will be sold by the joint bookrunners Nomura International and UBS in open market transactions on Thursday, Givaudan said.