RE: Tom Winnifrith28 Mar 2024 10:06
Thanks Josey
I agree - 4mths in offer period is a long time. I did contact the Takeover Panel a few months ago to try and understand the process in respect of offer periods as it is hard to sift through the legal text of thir code. My understanding from that interaction was that there is no set limit on how long it can stay in. It is pretty clear as well that the Takeover panel are not passive in this process and I they would allow a company to stay in an offer period this long if it was BAU and no other parties were involved.
The best i can find when looking online is the following:
As defined in the Takeover Code, the offer period will commence when the first announcement is made of an offer or possible offer for a company, or when certain other announcements are made, such as an announcement that a purchaser is being sought for an interest in shares carrying 30% or more of the voting rights of the company or that the board of the company is seeking potential bidders.
An offer period will end when an announcement is made that an offer has become or has been declared unconditional, that a scheme of arrangement has become effective, that all announced offers have been withdrawn or have lapsed or following certain other announcements having been made.
As for the point about their comment on performance in line with expectation. I think this is a bit harsh - Its not any different to what I see most companies share in their final results - it would be different if the RNS was a proper trading update.
My view remains the same here - I still expect to see a change of ownership. I still expect that this will involve a third party and I expect the price to be at a significant premium to the current SP. Your term ' relatively low ball acquisition' is subjective - and I would not disagree with the term. But 'low ball' for me is anything between 15p and 40p. I still expect a third party to be involved becasue I do not readily see how an MBO would help the company thrive.