The latest Investing Matters Podcast with Jean Roche, Co-Manager of Schroder UK Mid Cap Investment Trust has just been released. Listen here.
A couple of things don't add up!
Director Buys - if this is so undervalued why no recent director purchases? Unless they want to keep the price suppressed to enable accumulation by a party for a possible move?
Any previous interest in the company must now make it very very attractive to a PE firm of substance that is sat on large cash reserves and can see the potential growth in THG - surely a deal with Softbank / Sofina or CVC / Advent / Apollo? Lots of potential synergies with eCommerce, nutrition and beauty and other PE takeovers that are in the pipeline eg Boots.
I'm also getting ready to press the buy button if this retests the 60's in this sale of the century!
Morning all
I personally think a big announcement re strategic direction is imminent. The role of the CEO, Chairman and the BoD is to protect and grow shareholder value.
With such destruction in the IPO price (remember £5 per share and x15 oversubscribed) the Board will want to have this readdressed ASAP and there are huge II holding a lot of losses.
This will be the reason the Chairman is not buying - something is going to land soon (guessing the beginning of July)
I see £2.50 - £3.00 as a target
Edward Koopman
Non-Executive Director
Edward is currently Member of the Executive Committee and Head of Europe at Sofina.
Dr Andreas Hansson
Non-Executive Director
Andreas is an investor and adviser with experience from the entire company life cycle. Until recently he served as a Managing Director of SB Management, having first joined SoftBank Group in 2017, and was a Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers until August 2020.
So tell me - 2 NED's with big links to major shareholders of the company and nothing is about to drop?
It's going to be taken out or taken private
Private equity firms said to be circling THG, shares surge
https://www.sharecast.com/news/news-and-announcements/private-equity-firms-said-to-be-circling-thg-shares-surge--9159960.html
I also look at key investors who have recently taken positions and to me both Griifiths and Candy are in this list. Leahy (ex Tesco CEO) also owns a big chunk.
Candy bought 1m at £1.40 a share and with a rejected bid of £1.70 this has to be a £2 stock minimum in anybodies valuation.
Watching with interest ??
We will now see what this BoD has planned after destroying shareholder confidence and allowing insiders to dictate the short game.
I am loosing a significant amount here as many others so it's time to add some shareholder value!!!!
Morning all
Following the post on Murphy and CVC (very interesting) I picked this up on The Quality Group
Are Sortis in the frame?
https://www.sortisinvest.com/the-quality-group-continues-its-expansion-with-the-acquisition-of-got7-nutrition/
We will know soon! Gla
OK - time for my views and thinking (DYOR and IMHO)
Some Facts
The business originally IPO'ed at £5 and was 15 times oversubscribed. Wow and has lost near 80% since.
There are a lot of big players in the game (neither they or the directors really care about the little old PI - you and me)
There is a lot of money being made playing the uncertainty - reality - this is done and dusted in terms of an outcome.
The potential for the business is significant going forward - they are into robotic warehousing and fulfilment - this has mega opportunities! and ingenuity is a hidden gem. Remember 2.2bln turnover and all metrics set in original IPO being met or exceeded. and so to this takeover :
Takeover
There is interest and it is clear so I don't believe there will not be something about to take place.
My gut feeling is that they are driving down the price to make any potential (lower ball) bid be attractive or it does go private.
What do I expect - as with the AA I wouldn't be surprised to see an extension here - and then we go again - AA had lots and lots of them and then eventually sold for 35p (after months and months)
What I don't like (and suspect the market thinks the same) is the involvement of insiders in effect as part of bids or mates!
This seems to be the case with both McDonald and Candy.
However - the resigning of Murphy was watched with interest - Is CVC about to enter the game? - if they did they could surely win it - split it and reap the benefits.
GLA