The investment manager of Scottish Provident, Mr John Lawrie, has called for fundamental changes in the law affecting the compulsory acquisition of shares following successful takeovers, and has stated the current 80 per cent threshold where an offeror can compulsorily acquire outstanding shares is too low.
However, Mr Lawrie, who was publicly critical of the offer by Dr Tony O'Reilly and his associates to take Fitzwilton private, and previously publicly opposed DCC's takeover of Printech, has also called for the elimination of a loophole in the law which currently allows offerors to include shares they already own within the 80 per cent threshold required.
Mr Lawrie said that under existing company law, a bidder has to get acceptances in respect of 80 per cent of the remaining shares.
However, in the Fitzwilton bid, Dr O'Reilly and his associates, by setting up the Stoneworth company as the takeover vehicle, were able to include their own 27 per cent shareholdings as part of the 80 per cent they needed to be able to compulsorily the remaining shares.
"Eighty per cent is a remarkably low level at which a bidder is able to expropriate somebody else's property against their will," said Mr Lawrie, who said that 90 per cent acceptance is required in a similar takeover situation in the UK.
Speaking at an investment briefing, Mr Lawrie said fears of a mass sell-off of Irish shares post-EMU are overdone and added "the downside of the euro has been getting too much coverage in the debate". Mr Lawrie accepted that Irish institutions will be net sellers of Irish stocks post-EMU but added that "if a lot of institutions bolt for the door, we would stand back from the herd".
