SOME shareholders of Lyons Irish Holdings have accused its new majority partner, Unilever, of treating them in a "shabby" manner, saying its offer to buy their shares is "derisory".
The shareholders, attending the company's annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday, said they were very unhappy with the price Unilever is offering to pay for their shares.
Unilever, which purchased Allied Domecq's 75 per cent interest in Lyons earlier this year, is hoping to buy out the minority shareholders and has offered to pay them 323.3p per share. The board of Lyons Irish Holdings has recommended that shareholders reject the Unilever offer, on the grounds that it is too low.
Throughout the meeting, a succession of shareholders aired their annoyance, variously accusing Unilever of leaving them largely in the dark about its future plans for the company, and of treating them with "contempt" in relation to the price on offer. One shareholder said the minority shareholders had clearly become a "nuisance" for Unilever, which they wanted rid of.
However Unilever Ireland's chief executive, Mr Jim Rice, who is also a director of Lyons, urged shareholders in attendance to take up its offer, which he stressed is final.
"While we would like to get 100 per cent of the company, and have never said otherwise, we would like to get it at a reasonable price from our point of view", Mr Rice said. "If we end up with a substantial minority shareholding though, we will live with it." The 323.3p per share on offer to shareholders, he said, is a "very fair and reasonable price". Lyons chairman Mr Pierce Butler told shareholders the board believes they are being offered a "poor price" for their shares. "We have sought to get the price up but haven't succeeded," he said.
Mr Butler said the outlook for trading at the Lyons group was good for the next 12 months, with solid trading growth expected in the Republic. Tea sales in Northern Ireland were progressing well, he said, but it would be some time yet before they make a significant contribution to profits.
