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At an extraordinary meeting to approve – or vote down – the sale of Madison and Leeda in a MBO the shareholders voted 52-48 against the board of H Young plc.
The majority shareholder, Lakefield (which controls 17 percent of the shares)can now proceed with its 77p a share cash offer for H Young. This takeover could unsettle Madison.
Soon after the AGM Madison released this statement:
"At yesterday’s Extraordinary General Meeting of H Young Holdings PLC, the shareholders narrowly voted against the disposal of the Madison and Leeda divisions (52% to 48%) to the management team headed up by Terry Bowles, the CEO of H Young Sports & Leisure.
"The principal reason for the vote going this way was that the unsolicited bid for H Young from Dr Samann’s company Lakefield Holdings Ltd is conditional upon the sale of Madison and Leeda not completing.
"The clear implication therefore is that a majority of shareholders will accept the offer of Dr Samann for H Young unless another higher bid comes forward in the very near future.
"One cannot help but surmise that there is more to come on this story as things unfold in the weeks ahead!"
H Young plc made this official announcement:
"The Board believes it is in the interests of H Young Shareholders for the
Company to pursue all options to maximise shareholder value. Shareholders are
not required to make a decision as to whether to accept the Lakefield Offer
now. The Board recommends that Shareholders do not accept the Offer and that
they ignore any form of acceptance at this time."
Bill Caldwell, Chairman of H Young, said:
"We are disappointed that Shareholders have not supported the disposals of
Madison and Leeda due to the opportunistic offer by Lakefield. Shareholders
should continue to reject Lakefield’s inadequate offer which undervalues the
Group."
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