Blacks Leisure Share Discussion Threads

[hyper al] 03/1/2012 22:03

all a big con, the debt is part of the business and should not be separated.

Just our bank deposits getting eroded again!

[boonboon] 03/1/2012 18:25

Blacks Leisure bids expected within days

Four interested buyers are expected to table final bids for struggling outdoor clothing retailer Blacks Leisure within the next two days.

The outdoor clothing group is expected to be sold under a pre-pack administration deal after it said it did not expect an offer for the group's shares, only for its trade, assets and brands Photo: Bloomberg News


The potential buyers - who are understood to include Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley's Sports Direct - are reportedly planning to bid for the majority of the business, which includes Millets and brands such as Peter Storm and Eurohike.


The outdoor clothing group, which owns 98 Blacks outlets and 208 Millets stores, is expected to be sold under a pre-pack administration deal after it said it did not expect an offer for the group's shares, only for its trade, assets and brands.


The loss-making group, which employs 3,600 staff in outlets and at its head office and distribution centre in Northamptonshire, put itself up for sale after failing to secure extra funding to turn around the business.

[dugganjoe] 01/1/2012 22:51

Anyone expecting a prepack salad this week?

[pwhite73] 31/12/2011 17:54

Hyper Al - 28 Dec'11 - 19:21 - 547 of 572

"it is unlikely that any value will be attributable to the ordinary shares. " is NOT the same as saying "as administration very close now"

It is exactly the same as saying administration is very close now. The stock is not allowed to be listed and traded on the LSE if there is no value to them. A low priced share and a share having no value are NOT the same.

A share price can be extremely low but still representative of the value of the company irrespective of whether the value is high or low. What is about to happen to Blacks Leisure is that the assets of the company are about to be sold off separately from the PLC. If this happens the listed shares will no longer be representative of the assets only the debt. Therefore the company by law had to advise:

"it is unlikely that any value will be attributable to the ordinary shares."

If this happens then the shares will most certainly be suspended, the PLC put into administration and the shares eventually delisted. If the company does not request its shares are suspended then the UK Listing Authority will certainly enforce a suspension. Basically shares cannot be listed if there is no business behind them. The only exception to this rule are officially recognised cash shells and even then there is a limited timescale as to how long they can be listed without an injection of a business.

An all out bidder or financial rescuer may yet emerge for Blacks but if not this share will most certainly be delisted.

[uppompeii] 31/12/2011 15:34

Shame, I quite liked Blacks as a retailer, and Hawkins Bazaar which is going under as well. Isn't a largish shoe retailer about to disappear too?
Unfortunately it just means more and more soul-less discount stores and cash converters, a sad indictment of todays economy aside from the loss to shareholders

[typo56] 31/12/2011 15:19

strutt12, people with deep pockets loose small change sometimes and you shouldn't read too much into what they do. Look at what happend at DTZ recently. Or how the Bill Gates Foundation sank more and more into JJB. As I said some days ago, it certainly wouldn't surprise me to see the share price bounced by the perma optimists, ....followed by administration.

[sir rational] 30/12/2011 15:38

Still means nothing for shareholders

[strutt12] 30/12/2011 14:27

Blacks Leisure, the troubled outdoor clothing retailer, could receive a lifeline next week with four bidders vying for the majority of its assets.

Blacks said last week it had failed to find a buyer for the whole company, meaning that shareholders were likely to lose all of their investment in the indebted group.

However, a number of parties have submitted preliminary offers to buy all or part of its assets, raising hopes that much of the business and the jobs of many of its 3,500 employees could be saved.

It is understood that four bidders are interested in the bulk of the business. KPMG, which is handling the sale, has continued to hold talks with interested parties and provide them with further information. Second-round bids are due towards the end of next week.

The deal could still be done by way of a pre-pack administration, whereby a company goes into a formal insolvency process but emerges rapidly under new ownership following a pre-arranged sale.

The level of interest means that the majority of jobs at Blacks look set to be saved. However, there were likely to have been some redundancies in any case as the new management team restructured the group, which trades under the Blacks and Millets names.

It is thought that Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Sports Direct International are among those that are interested.

Any bidder is likely to back Julia Reynolds, the highly regarded former Tescoexecutive who became Blacks' chief executive in August.

She has impressed Sports Direct – which owns just more than one-fifth of the company – and is already ringing the changes in the business despite the challenging climate.

Blacks, which put itself up for sale this month, declined to comment. The shares closed down 0.125p at 1.13p.

The likely reprieve for Blacks offers a sliver of hope on the high street. It emerged last week that La Senza, the struggling 146-store lingerie chain, was planning to enter administration.

[strutt12] 29/12/2011 07:58

Sir Rat, Typo, Simon'

As you are all so well informed with Blacks situation maybe you could explain why the likes of Ashley, Griffiths, Frank Scolaro, Andy brough and now VF Corporation have been buying into a business,as you so often refer to "is most unlikely that any value will be attributable to the ordinary shares"?

We all know the business has been profitable, but they need to get their running costs down. The banks will let the company trade over Christmas as it's the busiest time of the year ie cashflow. If parts of the business are sold, ie Millets, and they take up Mikes offer to share his distrubution centre, then surely the banks get all their money back, and not just some!!!!!

"Analysts said that the proposed joint venture could give Blacks a greater chance of refinancing its £36m of debt and reducing its costs by sharing its existing warehousing, supply chain and IT capability. Analysts noted the careful wording of the statement"

IMHO DYOR

[hyper al] 28/12/2011 23:48

dugganjoe

Who are they, hardly a big name.

[dugganjoe] 28/12/2011 22:32

D2 Jeans goes into administration
Jeans chain enters administration
Store chain D2 Jeans has gone into administration, making 200 staff redundant and putting hundreds more jobs at risk.

Administrators closed 19 stores and laid off the shop workers at the Ayrshire-based firm.

The remaining 28 stores are being run as a going concern while administrators seek a buyer.

[jdburton] 28/12/2011 21:15

the word "deluded" springs to mind

"Never get emotional about stock, clouds the judgement" G.Gekko

[sir rational] 28/12/2011 20:49

So a fairy might wave her wand and some white knight buyer appear out of the ether, giving shareholders a miracle reprieve?

Yeah, right.

They're flogging off the good bits for low prices in January, you're left with the bad bits which nobody wants. Bank of Scotland is in charge because owed most, first thing they do is close all remaining shops because Blacks will be in administration.

[dugganjoe] 28/12/2011 20:44

does that mean this will be taken over by the banks?

Lol. Administration beckins imo, prob on jan 3rd when the Hillco chap gets to his office

[hyper al] 28/12/2011 20:42

Sir Rational

the company escape clause is "it is most unlikely" if that was not in, then I think we would have been suspended.

Remember one of our biggest shareholders businesses uses the same bank as Blacks.

[sir rational] 28/12/2011 20:29

You're reading it but not comprehending it:

Based on the level of indicative offers received, it is most unlikely that any value will be attributable to the ordinary shares.

It means the indicative offers have been very low, ie not enough to pay off debt & liabilities.

[hyper al] 28/12/2011 20:22

"but not for very good prices." yet again a comment without foundation.

[sir rational] 28/12/2011 20:18

No need to read between the lines:

Blacks Leisure continues to hold discussions with a number of selected parties with a view to concluding the sale process in January 2012. Based on the level of indicative offers received, it is most unlikely that any value will be attributable to the ordinary shares.

The Group continues to be in constructive discussions with its lender, Bank of Scotland plc, who is supportive of the ongoing sale process.

Ie third parties have offered to buy the more valuable bits of the business, but not for very good prices.

These bits will be sold in January.

Bank of Scotland supports the run down of the stock over Xmas & the New Year as this eliminates mess and releases cash.

Bank of Scotland (the new de facto owner of Blacks) will take whatever is offered for the valuable bits of the business (in January) and the rump Blacks will be placed in administration straight away.

I'd guess first week in January, certainly before the 10th.

[simonhatter37] 28/12/2011 19:58

Hyper Al

Are you being serious ?

If so you need sectioning and fast.

[hyper al] 28/12/2011 19:56

simonhatter37

You do not give any evidence to support your reasoning, so why should I take note?

My argument is based on the statements made in the RNS

[simonhatter37] 28/12/2011 19:54

Hyper Al

Salvage what you can before the fat lady sings and give it to cancer research rather than losing the lot.

[hyper al] 28/12/2011 19:52

Sir Rational

"Nobody wants to buy Blacks as an entity." that is probably true.

but someone may buy a substantial part of the business allowing the other part to continue trading with support from the bank. There is nothing to suggest that scenario is any less likely than the many others put forward by posters on this thread.

If this is not the case, why are the shares still trading?

[sir rational] 28/12/2011 19:40

The reasons have been given by the BOD:

- Nobody wants to buy Blacks as an entity.

- Shares are worthless.

- What is a likely outcome is cherry picking of certain bits of the business by third parties and Blacks the company going into administration.

They said it, not myself.

[jonc] 28/12/2011 19:38

I'm surprised that you are having this argument/discussion Hyper.

You are normally a sensible chap but this is screwed.


I have no position.