Schneider Presses Square D in Quest to Take Over Firm

Schneider SA of France stepped up pressure Friday on takeover target Square D. Co., saying it will nominate candidates to the electric-device maker’s board in what could become a proxy fight for control.

Square D said Schneider informed the company it plans to nominate candidates for all 11 board seats at Square D’s annual shareholders meeting April 24.

Schneider, a major French manufacturer of electrical devices, offered on Tuesday to buy Square D for $78 per share, or at least $1.92 billion. Schneider requested a response by March 1.

Schneider Chairman Didier Pineau-Valencienne said in a letter to Square D Chairman Jerre L. Stead that he would prefer to negotiate a friendly acquisition of the Palatine, Ill.-based company, a maker of fuse boxes and other electrical distribution products.

But he said Schneider was laying the groundwork for a proxy fight “to preserve our options and flexibility in this matter.”

Stead said he was “puzzled” by the action. “First, Schneider sends us a supposedly ‘friendly’ merger proposal; now they propose to replace our board of directors in a proxy fight,” Stead said in a brief statement.

The company’s stock closed up $1.75 at $76.75 in New York Stock Exchange trading.