Blacks rejects Sports Direct’s "wholly inadequate" offer
19 March 2010 09:25
The board of Blacks Leisure Group has rejected an approach from Sports Direct International as "wholly inadequate" in an announcement today. The offer of 62 pence-per-share values the company at £26 million and is subject to several pre-conditions, including the unanimous recommendation of the offer by the board of Blacks, however, the board said today that it is "of the view that one or more of these pre-conditions cannot be met" before declaring the offer to be inadequate.
In a statement, the company said: "The board has previously indicated that the proposed fundraising, due to be completed on February 25th 2010, would have provided capital to accelerate the final phase of the group's turnaround plan which the board and its advisers believe would have led to a substantial increase in shareholder value.
"The board is of the view that, having blocked the proposed fundraising despite being offered full pre-emptive participation in it, Sports Direct is now attempting to transfer that potential shareholder value from shareholders to Sports Direct.
"Accordingly, the board continues to consider the implementation of a fundraising for the company to be in the best interest of shareholders as a whole and therefore intends to pursue, as soon as practicable, a pre-emptive fundraising which would be structured in such a way as to only require an ordinary resolution being passed (requiring a simple majority of shares being voted on the resolution).
"This announcement has been made without the consent of Sports Direct. There can be no certainty that an offer will be made to shareholders or the terms on which any offer might be made".
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