Financier Mr Dermot Desmond now has an interest in more than 29 per cent in engineering group Unidare after his investment vehicle, International Investment & Underwriting Ltd (IIU), purchased shares in the company.
IIU has informed Unidare that it acquired 470,368 ordinary shares, or 2.38 per cent of the company, on June 24th, just days before this week's extraordinary meeting of shareholders to approve a US oil industry acquisition.
Mr Desmond, who also has an interest in the 26.63 per cent of Unidare held by Beechworth International Limited along with venture capitalist Mr Pierce Casey, attempted to block Unidare's proposed purchase of Oklahoma Rig and Supply for $60 million (€58 million). Market sources believe the additional shares were acquired to bolster their opposition to the plan.
However, the attempt to derail the proposed acquisition at Wednesday's meeting failed narrowly, with shareholders controlling some 48.3 per cent of the company backing Mr Desmond and Mr Casey, while 51.7 per cent voted with the board in favour of the deal. But the headline figures disguise the real level of support for the dissidents as shareholders representing just 60 per cent of the company voted in the ballot. As a result, the bid to block the acquisition garnered little support from independent shareholders.
What Mr Desmond and Mr Casey now plan is uncertain but, given that the Beechworth and IIU stakes would be deemed connected, they cannot snap up too many more Unidare shares before breaching the 29.9 per cent level which would trigger a mandatory bid for the company. They were highly critical of the management of the company at the e.g.m..
