Takeover panel31 Jul 2020 08:46
phpasia has also posted this above ... I think it's absolutely worth following suit and sending your email. I can't see how it can hurt and it might make a real difference ...
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Can i suggest all PIs write to the takeover panel and push them to react. They do care about private investors and it certainly can do no harm. This is the email: supportgroup@thetakeoverpanel.org.uk and below is what i have written. (please can someone post this on the London South East chat room).
Dear Takeover Panel,
I am a private investor in FTSE250 LSE listed Petropavlovsk Plc (POG.LSE). There is a genuine risk that a great number of minority investors, many of whom are private individuals with small shareholdings, are going to incur considerable financial loss from what very clearly appears to be a stealth takeover by a group of Russian investors who are blatantly acting in concert, in contravention of the London Listing rules and the Takeover Code. At the AGM held on the 30th June 2020 this group of investors, led by Everest Alliance Limited and the company’s largest shareholder (and competitor) Uzhuralzoloto Group of Companies submitted last minute resolutions to remove many of the more senior and independent directors and company’s co-founder and CEO, under whose combined leadership the Company has created tremendous value over recent years. They voted to install their own hand-picked directors and one directly affiliated representative, creating a Board designed to give control of the Company to them, removing the independent directors best able to protect minority investors interests and putting Petropavlovsk’s Premium Listing status at risk.
I understand that a complaint has been submitted to you by Prosperity Capital Management, another large shareholder. There will also be a General Meeting on the 10th August at which the same group of investors will try to consolidate their control of the board, leaving three concert party directors and only one independent director to protect the interests of minority shareholders. Given the challenges facing many small investors to vote in the current environment, these parties may well succeed, unless the Takeover Panel acts swiftly and effectively.
I do find it extraordinary that given the LSE’s respected international reputation for solid regulation and good governance; we have heard absolutely nothing from the Takeover Panel about this situation, which appears to be oblivious to minority private investors for whom they play an important role in protecting.
A failure to act would be a discredit to the UK’s reputation for good regulation, its international standing and most importantly, its role to protect minority investors from illegal corporate actions.
I would very much appreciate a response.
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