Shareholders lobby group VEB has called on both marine services group Smit International and dredging company Boskalis to be more open about their takeover talks which were abandoned last week.

Boskalis had made a hostile bid for Smit but dropped it because of opposition from Smit itself.
But the Financieele Dagblad reported at the weekend that a second offer for Smit involving Boskalis and industrial trading group SHV was on the table.
‘The VEB regrets the fact that Smit did not keep its shareholders informed about the takeover attempt or this alternative offer,’ the organisation said in a letter.