- Huw Hughes
-
|
Bonmarché has said that a takeover bid made by Edinburgh Woollen Mill
owner Philip Day “materially undervalues” the retailer and “its future
prospects.”
Earlier in April, Day bought a 52.4 percent stake in the retailer via
his Dubai-based investment vehicle, Spectre, triggering a mandatory
takeover bid for the company. At 11.445p per share, Day’s offer valued the
chain at around 5.7 million pounds.
A statement released by Bonmarché on Friday said: “The Board of
Bonmarché, having reviewed the announcement of 2 April 2019 concerning the
mandatory cash offer of 11.445 pence per Bonmarché share (the “Mandatory
Cash Offer”), considers that the Mandatory Cash Offer materially
undervalues Bonmarché and its future prospects.”
In the statement, Bonmarché also informed shareholders that it “had been
planning a number of cost reduction actions across the group” which it
planned to implement “shortly”. The company added that it would be writing
to shareholders with a formal response to the offer once it had been posted
by Spectre, and that in the meantime shareholders are “strongly advised to
take no action in relation to their Bonmarché shares.”
Bonmarché, which currently employs approximately 1,900 full-time
equivalent people according to its website, released its third profit
warning in six months in March, announcing that it expected underlying PBT
losses to be between 5 to 6 million pounds.
Photo credit: Bonmarché, Facebook
