Lawyers weekly report
Slater & Gordon will likely stop trading on the ASX as early as Monday next week, as Australian private equity firm Allegro Funds now owns more than 97 per cent of the national plaintiff firm and is exercising its right to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares.
The takeover
On 24 February — following days of media speculation and 48 hours after a trading halt — Slater & Gordon (ASX: SGH) confirmed that the company had signed a bid implementation agreement (BIA) with a subsidiary of Allegro Funds, providing for a recommended off-market takeover for 100 per cent of the listed company shares at $0.55 per share.
A takeover at that price would see the company valued at approximately $78 million, contrary to earlier speculation of a $150 million price tag.
The directors of Slater & Gordon “unanimously support” the offer made by Allegro, the firm said, and recommend that its shareholders accept the offer, in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to independent expert guidance.
