Slater Investments slaps down Miami fund’s £482m Randall & Quilter takeover bid
A major investor in AIM listed insurer Randall & Quilter has rejected a £482m offer to take the company private, after claiming the offer is too low.
Slater Investments, which owns a 10 per cent stake in the Bermuda based firm, rejected Brickell’s offer, after slamming the Miami headquartered fund’s offer to pay 175p-per-share.
“In terms of process it’s ludicrous and in terms of price it’s nothing like what we’d accept,” Slater chief investment officer Mark Slater told The Times.
In order to go ahead, any takeover requires support from 75 per cent of shareholders, meaning Slater’s decision to reject Brickell’s offer could see the entire deal collapse, if other shareholders come on side.
As part of the deal, Brickell, which owns a 23.3 per cent stake in Randall & Quilter, offer to plug a $100m hole in the insurer’s balance sheet.
The rejections comes after Randall and Quilter recommended shareholders back Brickell’s takeover bid, through which the investment vehicle offered a 17 per cent premium on the insurer’s March share price.
A Randall & Quilter spokesperson is quoted as saying: “The board consulted with shareholders and carefully considered their feedback.”
“Following this, the board took the decision to proceed with announcing and recommending the transaction having assessed that a substantial majority of investors were supportive of the transaction and would ensure that the vote would be successful.”