Business
Further re: Lapse of Offer
Further re: Lapse of Offer.
About this update from Coats Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Guinness Peat Group PLC\n05 February 2008\n\n\n Not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, in, into or\n from the US, Canada or Australia or any jurisdiction where to do so would\n constitute a violation of the laws of such jurisdiction.\n \n 05 February 2008\n \n Increased Cash Offer\n \n by\n \n Strand Partners Limited\n \n on behalf of\n \n GPG Acquisitions No. 5 Limited\n \n (a wholly owned subsidiary of Guinness Peat Group plc)\n \n for\n \n the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of\n \n NEWBURY RACECOURSE PLC\n \n Further re: Lapsing of the Increased Offer\n \n \nGPG announced earlier today that its Increased Offer for Newbury Racecourse had\nlapsed. As Newbury Shareholders will be aware from the various GPG documents,\nthe motivation behind the Original Offer was to protect GPG's investment, given\nthe Newbury Board's intention of entering into the proposed joint venture with\nDavid Wilson Homes Limited (\"DWH\") for a 10 year property redevelopment. As a\ndirect result of GPG's offer Shareholders have been provided with a substantial\namount of information which the Newbury Board would otherwise not have made\npublic. The level of acceptances for the Increased Offer, together with the\nNewbury shares held by GPG, indicate that at least 35% of the Company has severe\ndoubts in respect of the DWH contract, significantly more than the approximately\n22% of the Shares represented by the Newbury Board.\n\nGiven this, GPG has served a requisition on the Company requesting that the\nNewbury Board call a meeting of Shareholders (i) in line with best practice\ncorporate governance for such a material transaction, to consider the proposed\nDWH contract; and (ii) to consider resolutions proposed by GPG for the\nreconfiguration of the Newbury Board so that Shareholder nominees occupy four of\nnine board seats. Newbury has obtained a written commitment from DWH which would\nenable the Company, at any time up to July 2008, to enter into a contract for\nthe residential redevelopment. Nonetheless, GPG believes that little purpose is\nserved by the Newbury Board delaying such a meeting and calls upon it to convene\nan Extraordinary General Meeting forthwith.\n\nCommenting on the Increased Offer Blake Nixon, Chairman of GPG Acquisitions,\nsaid \"We are pleased with the scrutiny that has been a...