Member Info for johnpwh

Lets hope. There was a surge towards the end of the day and SP still holding above the offer price even though the completion of the LS deal months away. I'm hopeful

in your example 80% less shares, not 20%. Lets not get peoples hopes up too much

By the time I press send on this we may have reached it

There is life on this board! Yes we have both been on AML, hundreds of post every day there. There are some promising companies who are lucky to get 6 posts a year on lse. Wonder what the psychology is behind that?
Normally I would sell my Grandma to make a few bob (not an easy task as they've been brown bread for years!). But I don't like this bid - ok I don't like the price, but mostly I don't want to see a good British asset caring for the UK elderly sold to some feelingless US Private Equity shark/vulture who will no doubt follow the usual formula of saddling it with debt and leave the residents (present and future) with paring down of services and escalating costs. Doesn't sit well with me. There is a place for ethics in investment. The BOD should be ashamed of this.

Seems a great disinterest amongst shareholders here. I cannot remember another share 'in play' attracting so few comments. Anecdotally I conclude that there is little or no support amongst investors to support this bid. Hopefully this means many will vote against this opportunistic bid, like I will. Keep MCS British!

Who's buyin?
No one much. Further significant dilution at 50p, even more dilution with free shares to Benz to share in their toy box which for them is already bought and paid for. Nice deal for them. Could end in the red today, especially in todays poor market. Are any of you really surprised? You just gee each other up, judging by last nights hundreds of posts.

Nope I didnt

Jjtrader
Why are you writing like that?

Wordsmybond
Hope you are right! I have already had a Leffe and a couple of glasses of red and frankly cannot make head nor tail of it. Seems there is dilution at 50p plus 'free' shares awarded to MB in exchange for technology. Not saying that is bad, and may secure the future, but will wait with interest to see if the news is translated into a markedly enhanced SP

Hard to decide what will happen here.
The SP persists at just over the offer price implying, that the market thinks tha the action isn't over yet. The comments I have seen in the press imply they think Lone Star are taking the p***. With a low shareholding there is a reasonable chance of the bid being rejected, especially as looking at the price chart over the last few years must mean that a significant proportion of shareholders will be in a loss position at 115p. This is reinforced by a feeling that the SP was probably at the bottom of a cycle with the aging population and leasehold concession meaning the business model is strong.
Conversely you have to consider what LS will do if the bid is defeated. Will they increase the bid? If not the shares will drop, and you have to assume that LS will bail pretty quickly while they are still in profit (you have to assume that their holding was largely accumulated at sub 80p)

I cant see anybody participating in refinancing paying more than current market price. A discount is the norm for obvious reasons.

True 'r', and I think we all think they will increase their share of Sonora from 22.5% to 50%. Cant help think that it is in their interest to increase their share of Sonora to 50% sooner rather than later, as the price the will pay is stated as being related to the price of BCN share, which seems to have upward momentum.

.... to 115p following Fridays news. Brilliant! That's why the guys with red braces earn so much!

I don't know the story Mick. What parallels are you drawing?

Sadly Marble, the way things are at present you wont have the option. Your shares will be sold from beneath you.
I'm assuming that the Lone Ranger (or whatever they call themselves) will increase their holding by buying in the market - why not, they buy at the current price and gain shares on which they can cast votes that count towards rubber stamping their takeover or wait until the end of the bid process when they will probably pay pretty much the same price for shares on which they were unable to cast votes. So they may as well go for it. Anyone know the rules about them buying (and to what limit) after the offer is announced? I'm assuming they can increase to 30%, the limit where making a bid would be forced upon them.
I think they will be tight on this offer - I noticed the para about retaining the right to reduce the offer price if any divi was paid out. That may be standard but strikes me as a company that is unlikely to put another 40p per share on the table. A white night is needed, preferably someone who will sack this totally spineless board.

Some of the posts on advfn are worth reading. Talk of an earlier 180p bid rejected by the then board, when the NAV was lower than today.
Obviously for a substantial company the SP has to be viewed relative to the level of the market which it is in, in this case the FTSE250, as well as the sector of operation. The FTSE250 is down 10% over a year. Even after the bid MCS is down double that figure..
Not sure what point I'm trying to make here, but to me this bid is opportunistic and the BOD is weak and barely invested themselves in the equity. Certain fact is that the fate of MCS is in the hands of Institutions, not private investors. Our clout is negligible.

Ha ha, that's a relief, thought I'd offended you!

Crank
They do need over 50% (of which they have 17.2%) to secure the bid. 30% means they have to make a bid (from my understanding, often flawed!) but that is irrelevant since they have already bid. Not sure whether as a declared bidder they are allowed to carry on buying in the market prior to the vote, thereby giving themselves more votes. Maybe someone can inform me. If not they need to persuade 32.8% (ok strictly 32.9%) of shareholders to back them. Exciting times. Wonder why they didn't try to get closer to the 30% before declaring the bid?

Crank
We'll see. If I sell at the current price I will clear the 115p. Just. If I wait I'll get ..... 115p. I think I will wait my time rather than make one of my (in) famous investment decisions elsewhere, at least its safe(ish) where it is.

Why on earth would it be unethical? Its a market and the shareholder vote hasn't been taken. For an ongoing company It up to the majority of the shareholders as to what happens