The coleslaw and kidney beans are starting to fly at the owner of the Harvester restaurant chain.
On Monday morning, Mitchells & Butlers, which owns All Bar One and Toby Carvery, decided to go public and bring to the attention of shareholders the recent manoeuvrings of Piedmont Inc., an investment vehicle controlled by billionaire currency trader Joe Lewis.
Piedmont, which owns a 23 per cent stake in M&B, has blocked the appointment of not one, but three new chairmen and has also requested the resignation of the senior independent director, Simon Laffin.
However, M&B has decided to fight back:
The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers has been approached and a submission will be made imminently regarding the cumulative evidence that a number of shareholders have been seeking to gain control of the Board and of the Company to advance the interests of a small group of shareholders at the expense of others.
The fact that M&B has approached the Panel means that it believes this “number of shareholders” controls more than 30 per cent of the company — which is, of course, the threshold for a mandatory takeover bid.
And should the Panel find that the shareholders have been acting in concert before they last purchased stock then it could force them to make an offer for M&B — at the highest price they paid for shares in the past 12 months.
Alternatively, it could force the shareholders to sell down their combined holding so it is less than 30 per cent. However, M&B will need to have compelling evidence to win this case.
So, who are these other shareholders and how much do they collectively own? A quick look at the M&B share register offers some clues.
One name immediately stands out: Elpida, which is an investment controlled by Irish racing tycoons John Magnier and JP McManus.
Related link:
M&B turns to Panel over Lewis’s role - FT
Focus on Lewis role in M&B board talks – FT