Gibbs & Dandy Share Discussion Threads

[ed 123] 10/7/2008 16:35

wad collector, your broker is wrong. "Unconditional" was announced on 1 July.

Agree, holders had a lucky escape here.

[wad collector] 10/7/2008 10:51

Still hasn't become undconditional according to my broker.Looking at the bombed out sector glad to be out of here.

[ed 123] 28/5/2008 08:43

BTSM results are very good; not yet affected by any downturn.

Might this spur a counter offer for GDYO? Probably not, imho. If the major shareholders were open to offers, they should have started a sale process in spring last year. Starting with a market share price of around 400p should have given > 500p for a take out price.

[wad collector] 08/5/2008 14:23

Private investors don't have enough shares between them to outvote the institutions ; we are a bureaucratic irritation.
Ok, in a stronger market they may be worth more , but my view is that if I reinvest elsewhere there are plenty of undervalued shares that will ride back up again .probably.

[wig123] 07/5/2008 20:25

Thanks Ed/ Ash. suppose its the old case of a bird in the hand, will continue fishing around and try and get a feel for things down at main branch.

[ashleighp] 07/5/2008 20:16

We can still decline the offer or do nothing and see how many acceptances they get by the deadline (which would usually be extended if they don't have a lot of acceptances). My feeling is that i'll adopt the wait and see approach. I'd be happy to hold these for a lot longer. Private investors often think these things are a done deal and grudgingly accept - but takeovers succeed because of this behaviour. If we all declined or took our time then things might turn out different. I bet there are a lot of other loyal GDYO followers around that would be happy to decline.

[ed 123] 07/5/2008 20:03

Hi wig123. Big shareholders can look for what they want, but they will only get the chance to accept what a bidder offers. For a small business, it's taken a while for this announcement to come along. It may have reached the stage of, 'We won't offer any more than 425p per share, either recommend acceptance or we withdraw.'

There's been enough time for others to express an interest. However, now is not a good time for potential bidders. WOS for one, needs to conserve cash.

Only guessing, but if it goes smoothly, shareholders might get their cash in about 10 weeks.

[ed 123] 07/5/2008 19:41

I thought it might be getting close since there was a bounce in the share price after it had gone xd. Am I to assume that insiders had a nibble?

There'll be a vote on it, of course, but I suppose it's unlikely to be rejected. They will have sounded out the larger shareholders.

The takeout price is about the same level as last summer's high and only marginally higher than it was three years ago. Definitely 425p is low using that yardstick. However, in the current climate, with the other merchants' shareprices having been hammered, I suppose it's fair. There's still a (small?) chance that someone will come along with an offer of 440p.

The major shareholders may be in need of cash, and so would welcome takeovers generally. PI's can take the money and spend it elsewhere in the sector if they choose.

[wig123] 07/5/2008 17:11

Well there we go buy out confirmed, not happy with price. do we get a say or what

[westcountryboy] 03/5/2008 22:00

Hi wig123

Rather ironically, John Lee in today's FT reaches a different conclusion:



But who knows who's right?!

[ed 123] 03/5/2008 10:43

A few of my rambling thoughts:

Wolseley have a difficult market in the US, with no sign of improvement yet. Its interim dividend was in excess of its basic eps. Regarding acquisitions, WOS said,

"The Group will apply a highly selective approach to further capital and acquisition expenditure."

However, GDYO would only be loose change to WOS.

We don't know whether it was WOS that expressed an interest in GDYO and, even if it was, there may now be another front runner.

GDYO share price rose over the last few days, so perhaps someone is expecting confirmation of an offer.

A bold punter might sell GDYO now and put the funds into WOS or TPK, etc.

I think if there is an announcement that the mooted takeover is off, the share price would drop; guessing down to 350p-ish. Long term, GDYO of course looks solid.

Yes, it's a difficult call. I suppose it depends on one's investment objectives/approach.

[wig123] 03/5/2008 09:55

Bit nervous in here at the moment, feedback Ive been getting from local branch and staff is that any deal with Wolsley is off the table, if that sort of info is freely available around the yard & shop floor surely RNS should of been announced. Still holding tight as co. is solid regardless of takeover, just cautious as to what would happen to share price if news comes out as to takeover off.

[ed 123] 12/3/2008 11:35

A new mm has appeared. "STAN" is bidding to buy 10,000 shares at 400p, but not offering to sell any. Am I to presume STAN thinks a formal offer will be made to buy GDYO?

[ed 123] 12/3/2008 08:00

The results read well. We knew 2007 would have been good. The first two months of 2008 are going well also, but, as with many businesses at the moment, it's unusually difficult to say how the full year will go, due to the expected slowdown.

Property has been revalued, suggests either they are preparing to rebuff the suitor or else they are looking for a full price.

MM's have marked it up 5p.

Awaiting further bid news.

[mangal] 10/3/2008 14:17

Well, the graph tells us it's heading back to the peak.

[ashleighp] 10/3/2008 12:05

I agree with your thoughts about the price - up 10p before any trades were reported does tend to suggest the market thinks an offer is likely and that details will be announced with the results.

[ed 123] 10/3/2008 11:14

AshleighP, I've only held GDYO, so can't comment on the "A" shares. I'm pleased you've done well from your investment.

Finals are due for release on Wednesday. Along with the finals there should be some comment about the takeover talks. Of course, it could go either way, but I still favour a recommended offer as the outcome. The UK is heading for a slowdown and the credit crunch has further to go, so I should think the major shareholders would be amenable to a reasonable offer.

The quote is up 10p today with no reported trades. Perhaps my expectations are shared by others?

[ashleighp] 26/2/2008 15:39

For those of us that previously held the "A" class of shares (old EPIC = GDYA) before the consolidation the returns have been much better - I think this is important to take into account when looking at past performance.

[ed 123] 26/2/2008 13:31

TPK is up nicely today, while BTSM is down. Is the latter the party in talks with GDYO?

Looking at the possible bid, even going back to 2000 the shareprice was at times above 300p, so (although safe) GDYO has not given longterm holders good capital growth. Consequently, I should think that the major holders of GDYO would accept a reasonable offer. The larger chains have much better buying power and can spread their overheads over many more outlets, so there would be good efficiency gains available for any buyer of GDYO. My guess is that a bid of around 440p will be made and recommended for acceptance.

Holding and hoping.

[mw8156] 16/2/2008 12:13

lthm more family controlled than gibbs so less of a sitting duck? Ennstone is more likely but higher risk for an acquirer ?

[ntv] 15/2/2008 12:26

try lthm got to be a target as well

[ashleighp] 15/2/2008 10:49

Gibbs and Dandy has long been touted as a bid target. I never thought i'd see it though. If it does go ahead I would hope for well above 400p - 400p is too low.