Belvoir looks set to pursue a merger with competitor The Property Franchise Group after announcing that shareholders in the latter have said they support in principle discussions.
Belvoir yesterday announced that the shareholders represent 12.31% of current issued capital in TPFG.
They are Amati Global Investors Ltd on behalf of Amati VCT and Amati CVT2; Hargreave Hale; and Livingbridge VC.
Time is fast running out for Belvoir to “put up or shut up” under stock market rules – ie, either make a formal offer or go quiet.
The Property Franchise Group has gone on record as describing the “merger” as a hostile takeover bid, which it has described as unacceptable.
What isn’t made clear in this release is that some if not all of the PFG shareholders mentioned here are already Belvoir shareholders too!
Hardly the unconverted.
It smacks of desperation to me, maybe Belvoir are worried about their own future if they can’t borrow and bluster their way to a deal?
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Exactly. 12.3% whilst not insignificant hardly represents the opinion of the majority of shareholders either. Belvoir are opening themselves up to a hostile takeover from elsewhere now that their weaknesses have been exposed.
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Or, Belvoir can see the cold chill of winter coming for letting agents post fee ban and are sensibly seeking to bulk up to see them through. Its all in how you spin it.
Be interesting if the two disaffected Sheep Boys who seem to have left PFG under a bit of a cloud, throw their combined 9% in with the other Belvoir minority backers; 21.3% will at least bring the parties back to the negotiating table.
If there’s mutual shareholders of both groups backing a merger, its because they can see they need to preserve the overall value of both albeit there will be some dilution in the short run.
It seems both parties want a combination of the two businesses; they just need to sort out whose going to be the mergor and who the mergee! (or, indeed, whose getting their P45 and the hump).
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