Shareholders of Wella AG have tendered almost 3.4 million shares to Procter & Gamble Co. as part of P&G's takeover of the German hair-care giant.

The shares do not include the 77.6 percent of common shares that P&G has a deal to buy directly from the controlling shareholders. That will give P&G control of the company when it closes the purchase later this year.

P&G launched the tender offer to acquire the remainder of the common shares and a class of preference shares. The first phase of the tender offer expired at 10 a.m. German time Wednesday. Although P&G did not have final figures, it said the shares tendered as of late Tuesday totaled 5.03 percent of Wella's total share capital.

An additional two-week tender period, required by German law, will start in early June.

Some holders of Wella preference shares have complained that the offer of 65 euros a share is too low. But P&G has said it will not increase the offer and that it can reach its financial goals for the purchase without 100 percent share ownership.

Meanwhile, efforts by those preferred shareholders to block P&G's acquisition suffered a setback after a German court refused Wednesday to give the case an expedited review.

Cliff Peale