A BRITISH pub group in which John Magnier and JP McManus have a significant shareholding has sought help from the Panel Takeovers and Mergers after the appointment of a new chairman was blocked by another shareholder.
Mitchells & Butlers, the British owner of All Bar One, will seek a ruling from the takeover panel and present “cumulative evidence” that shareholders have been trying to gain control of the company.
The pub company approached the panel after a representative of British billionaire Joe Lewis, the company’s largest shareholder, blocked candidates for a new chairman and called for the resignation of the senior independent director, it said yesterday in a regulatory statement. “The implication of the statement is that he’s limiting their ability to do what a normal board would do,” said Paul Hickman, an analyst at KBC Peel Hunt, who has a “hold” recommendation on the stock. “Specifically it’s a question of not limiting the board’s freedom of action in appointing a chairman.”
Mitchells, which also owns the Harvester and O’Neill’s chains, said it went to the takeover watchdog over the “increasingly difficult relationship between the board and a small number of its largest shareholders”.
Mr Lewis holds a 22.2 per cent stake in Mitchells through Piedmont, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company’s second-largest shareholder is Elpida Group, the investment vehicle of Irish millionaires John Magnier and JP McManus, which has a holding of 17.6 per cent.
A representative of Piedmont vetoed three candidates put forward to replace Drummond Hall as chairman, Mitchells said yesterday, despite being a member of the nomination committee that selected them. Mr Lewis also asked for the resignation of senior independent director Simon Laffin. A representative from the takeover panel declined to comment and a spokeswoman for Elpida wasn’t immediately available to comment yesterday.
Mr Lewis, a former currency trader who lost $1.19 billion (€0.8 billion) last year in Bear Stearns, nominated Richard McGuire as his representative on the Mitchells board in July. The billionaire bought his stake from real-estate investor Robert Tchenguiz. – (Bloomberg/PA)
