The takeover of textiles and artificial turf maker TenCate by consortium led by Gilde Buy Out Partners is in doubt because not enough investors have tendered their shares.

By the end of December 16, just over 60% of the shares outstanding had been tendered, and this is not enough to allow the bid declared unconditional, Ten Cate said in a statement.

The takeover had been conditional on two-thirds of the shares being made available. Gilde said in the statement it will announce what it will do next by December 21.

Gilde had expected at least 95% of the shares would be tendered for a price of €24.60 each, news agency ANP reported.

According to the Financieele Dagblad, many investors found the offer price too low, particularly because there were rumoured to be other companies interested in buying TenCate.