Dobbies Garden Centres Share Discussion Threads

[marlons marlin] 13/5/2009 17:12

can anyone tell me which, if any, garden centres are now listed in their own right?

[growthhunter] 05/1/2009 17:00

ta Al. I agree

[hyper al] 05/1/2009 15:22

growthhunter

I noticed that Tesco have not done much with Dobbies, like you say, they must have long term plans.

As with any company with debt, I think Dobbies could have hit serious problems this year. They could not really say no to Tesco takeover, after Tesco provided Dobbies with a 110 million pound 10-year loan facility!

In RNS dated 9/4/2008 it said

"As of Oct. 31 2007, Dobbies' net debt was 88.3 million pounds. This has
since increased to over 100 million pounds, while net assets total just 43
million pounds. This means the retailer is over 200 percent geared. In addition
Tesco in October provided Dobbies with a 110 million pound 10-year loan
facility."

[growthhunter] 05/1/2009 13:20

..........bit academic but anyone think these would have gone under if tesco were not involved?

.....tesco do not seem to be making many changes or building up the roll out. Seems odd. I think they are regarding it as a very long term play

[hyper al] 21/5/2008 07:39

Tesco wins again, could be bad news for other garden centres.

Well done Sir Tom Hunter for putting up a fight.

[campbed] 21/5/2008 07:27

Today's agreed offer at £12/share is one in the eye for Mr Hunter (and me) who could have got £15/share from Tesco about nine months ago and who (I didn't) bought shares at a higher price than that to block Tesco takeover at that time.

[mike24] 13/4/2008 08:24

the majority of investors may have regretted not accepting T's offer,
there are serious concerns on consumer spending,the fundraiser will leave
dob labouring under gearing of 200% with 150m for expansion, that leaves value
in prop holdings?which are in decline maybe as much as 20%
liz hull this w/end
bedding plants down from 3.99to 1.99 which could prompt a crisis in
horticultural ind, with producers throwing away massive amount of plants
another grower said this this is about life & death for uk horticulture,

this not about doom&gloom more common sense,the real crisis emerging is
to the uk transport industry on its knees,foreign haulage co,have 30%
lower costs as the euro-plan to let them operate on a big scale here

[badtime] 09/4/2008 20:46

have to agree with u ther lady

[ladyfarmer] 09/4/2008 12:41

They thought it worth £15 a share not so long ago.

And for the record, farmers doing v well right now, thanks to increases in grain and milk prices - not to mention selling off a few acres for housing!

[mike24] 09/4/2008 12:30

the chart not looking good, clever tesco? why does Terry L
need garden centres, you can't hedge the weather, farmers, edit those renting
staff cc flogging off all farms as they are 85ml in debt
market gardeners living on a shoe string, exception of potato
yields which might dent walkers C,

last trade at 2kx1100 ooch!

[ladyfarmer] 09/4/2008 11:31

An interesting development. Clever Tesco - Hunter must put up or shut up. Assume good for shareholders and have had a little flutter. Worth it for entertainment value alone!

[wahlenm] 04/9/2007 09:55

I have accepted tescos offer for most of my shares. Have you crossed the bridge Gengulphus?

[wahlenm] 17/8/2007 17:22

Gengulphus

Tesco have over 53%

You have reached the bridge. I am accepting for all bar 100 shares as per my post 143.

[gengulphus] 16/8/2007 09:18

I'm definitely not accepting until and unless I hear that Tesco have received 50% acceptances. I haven't decided what to do if they do get 50% acceptances. There's no hurry - if they do and the offer goes unconditional, we get at least 2 more weeks to decide whether to accept. So I'll cross that bridge if and when I get to it, and am not bothering to think about it right now...

Gengulphus

[wahlenm] 16/8/2007 07:44

Gengulphus

Have you stood firm in not accepting Tescos offer at this time? If they do not receive 50% acceptances the price will drop. I am not accepting but will accept (for most of my holding) if Tesco obtain 50% acceptances . I will probably keep 100 shares so as to see how things pan out. If tesco / hunter do a deal at a later date I regard the paperwork that I will receive as a lesson in investing that may be of use to me in another bid. I will enjoy seeing the attempts by both to frustrate the ambitions of the other.I have learnt a lot from you Gengulphus about the takeover code- Thanks happy investing

[gengulphus] 09/8/2007 16:38

So there we are: West Coast Capital have stated they will not be making a competing offer (*), while also saying that they think the Tesco offer undervalues the company and that they will not be accepting the Tesco offer. In the process, they have a bit of a moan about the agreements made with regard to the Tesco offer, but I suspect they basically don't see the point of getting into a bidding war in which each side already has a blocking stake.

So the question is now whether to accept the Tesco offer. There are basically two outcomes possible now:

* Tesco fail to get 50% acceptances by August 19th and the offer lapses. We're left with a stalemate in which both sides continue to have a blocking stake.

* Tesco get 50% acceptances by August 19th and take control of the company, but are stuck with the company's listing and significant minority shareholders.

I would like to remain a shareholder, and it seems entirely reasonable to me to do so if the first outcome occurs, because I'll still know that no-one can take control of the company without another public takeover offer. On the other hand, if the second outcome occurs, there will eventually (I think - I haven't checked in detail) be the possibility of Tesco consolidating their control by a private deal with Tom Hunter, since a shareholder who already has over 50% of the shares does not become obliged to make an offer when they acquire more. So if that second outcome occurs, I shall have to take a detailed look at my position.

However, there's no urgency to do anything about the possibility of the second outcome, because if it occurs, Tesco must keep the offer open for at least a further 14 days. So I will not be accepting the offer for the time being - just watching out for whether Tesco get their 50% acceptances and the offer therefore becomes unconditional as to acceptances. If and when it does, more thought will be needed.

(*) Though they reserve the right to change their minds if certain events occur, including a "material change in circumstances".

Gengulphus

[gengulphus] 09/8/2007 09:33

I doubt that Tesco's announcement this morning has made any real difference to the price today, because it contains nothing remotely unexpected. Their number of acceptances has gone up slightly (just short of 40k shares) since the last update - I must admit that I'm not quite certain why anyone has accepted recently, but presumably there are a few people in special situations... They were clearly going to extend the offer, given the possibility of Tom Hunter deciding not to bid and the share price subsequently dropping to below 1500p, and the 60-day limit means that August 19th has to be the final closing date except with the Takeover Panel's consent (which I'm pretty certain they'll get if Tom Hunter does bid!).

The real interest today is in Tom Hunter's announcement, which he has to make one way or another by 5pm. If he announces a bid, it has to be at least 1845p, and there will be a competitive situation, so I expect the price to rise to something higher than that level on the possibility that Tesco will then raise their offer. If he announces that he's not bidding, I expect the price to fall, quite possibly to a bit below 1500p, but no lower, and it will be possible to get 1500p anyway by accepting the offer. So on the current market bid price of 1620p, there's about 120p of downside and 225p+ of upside - which suggests the market is assessing the chances of him bidding at about 1 in 3.

Gengulphus

[wahlenm] 09/8/2007 06:46

Tesco announce 32.6% acceptances. I do not expect Sir TH to bid but will not be selling to Tesco. I expect the price to drop today as Sir TH will probably not announce his plans till later today.

[gengulphus] 08/8/2007 22:22

As I've just looked it up - it's by 8am, and the relevant rule is 17.1.

I've also now discovered why Tesco can no longer increase their offer unless a competing offer is made. It's an interaction between two rules;

* Rule 31.6 says that an offer cannot become unconditional as to acceptances more than 60 days after the posting of the initial offer document - i.e. that's basically the limit on how long the offer can remain open. There are some exceptions to this if the Takeover Panel consents, and a competing offer arising is a normal one of those exceptions.

* Rule 32.1 says that the offer must remain open for 14 days after any revision.

These combine to say that unless one of the exceptions to rule 31.6 arises, the offer cannot be revised more than 46 days after the posting of the initial offer document. In this case, that posting happened on June 20th and 46 days later was August 5th, so Tesco cannot now revise their offer unless one of those exceptions arises. So there are more cases where they might be allowed to revise their offer than just a bid by Tom Hunter, but I'd guess such a bid is the only likely one.

Gengulphus

[wahlenm] 08/8/2007 20:09

I have been out since my last post. Gengulphus == I agree your sentiment. I suppose if Sir TH does not make a bid tomorrow and Tesco announce under 50% acceptances we will know the answer. I am not sure by what time Tesco have to make an offer update announcement tomorrow- no time to look in code tonight.

[gengulphus] 08/8/2007 14:04

Thanks. I'm afraid I treat journalist statements of that type with great suspicion - I've known them be wrong far too often...

I agree about the length of the Takeover Code! And please don't spend too long looking at it unless you're particularly interested in the issue - I asked about it in the hope that your source had happened to quote it, not to give you a lot of work...

Gengulphus

[wahlenm] 08/8/2007 09:35

Gengulphus

Please see the last sentence of paragraph 8 of the following article in last Sundays Scotsman. I will endeavour to fine confirmation in takeover code- it is along document

Hunter told to put up or shut up in Dobbies battle
HAMISH RUTHERFORD
CITY CORRESPONDENT ([e-mail])
SIR Tom Hunter has until Thursday to decide whether he will bid for Dobbies after the Takeover Panel ordered him to put up or shut up yesterday.

Scotland's richest man is locked in a phoney battle with supermarket giant Tesco over the Scottish garden centre chain. Tesco tabled a £155.6 million bid for the company in June, still the only bid available to shareholders.

Hunter quickly launched a counter offensive, building up his stake to almost 26 per cent, and his investment company, West Coast Capital (WCC), released a statement on 14 June saying it was considering a possible bid.

Last night the Takeover Panel said WCC had until 5pm on Thursday to declare a "firm intention" to make an offer or announce it will not do so. If it does withdraw it will not be able to launch a bid for Dobbies for at least six months.

Should Hunter bid he would be forced to offer at least 1,845p a share for Dobbies, the most he paid during the raids, which would value Dobbies at more than £191m.

A spokesman for Hunter said the move was "100 per cent expected" and did not change the situation with "all options still on the table".

A spokesman for Tesco welcomed the move saying it would provide certainty for shareholders.

Shares in Dobbies dropped 3 per cent yesterday after a spike on Friday, but still closed on 1,675p, which is 11.6 per cent above Tesco's bid. However the price is being held up on hopes Hunter will launch a counterbid, meaning the market will keenly wait for his response. It will also allow Tesco to consider upping its offer, which it is currently unable to do in the absence of another bid.

Tesco upped the ante in its bid yesterday, exercising options over 16.4 per cent of Dobbies shares, with irrevocable undertakings from Dobbies' directors to accept its bid. The UK's largest retailer now Dobbies largest shareholder with 28.1 per cent, urged Dobbies shareholders to accept the bid before the second deadline at 1pm tomorrow.

"It shows that we really mean business," a Tesco spokesman said . It also secures an effective blocking vote by taking ownership beyond 25 per cent, meaning Hunter could not take the company private without Tesco's consent.

The move will provide a major pay out for several senior directors at Dobbies. Chief executive James Barnes, whose family floated the company and who retained a personal stake of more than 6 per cent, is set to trouser £10.05m from the deal, while operations director Johnny Trotter is set to take £3.55m and long serving Chairman Alex Hammond-Chambers just under £2m.

GARDENING FEUD
DOBBIES has become a flashpoint between Tesco and Sir Tom Hunter, though their motives are different. Tesco, struggling to maintain its growth in the UK supermarket sector, wants to use the chain to give it a key foothold in a non-food sector. Hunter, already No. 1 in the garden centre business, is intent on further consolidation following his purchase of Wyevale and Blooms of Bressingham, and would not want a major rival to emerge, especially the UK's largest retailer. Tesco has the only bid on the table, 1500p, though the market is being held up on hopes Hunter, who has paid up to 1845p to build his stake, will make a counterbid. Following last night's announcement, the market will know by Thursday evening one way or another.

[gengulphus] 08/8/2007 08:43

I have now established that unless Sir TH makes a bid Tesco cannot increase its bid above £15.00.

Have you established a reason why they can't? For instance, a rule of the Takeover Code that says they can't?

Not doubting you, but I always like to check things against original sources - very often, you find there's a let-out clause that's got missed somewhere or something like that. And I also find it very helpful to know reasons for things like this to help my understanding the next time the same sort of situation comes up.

Gengulphus

[wahlenm] 08/8/2007 06:52

post 129. I have now established that unless Sir TH makes a bid Tesco cannot increase its bid above £15.00. I do not see it being successful at this level even in obtaining 50% of the shares in which case it does not even have control. I agree with Genglephus that investors have short timescales but surely it will not be lost on institutional investors that Sir TH has enough to keep a market in the shares going. I believe that after 6 months Tesco can come back with a bid above £15.00 and Sir TH can come in with a bid below the £18.45 that is the minimum he could bid at now. I believe the current price to be a good one for shareholders but like Genglephus I do not want to sell. There are only 10 Million shares and a bid by Sir TH now at £18.50 would surely result in him being outbid by Tesco at say £19.00. This means that Tesco could have the company for £40 million more than their current bid (£19- £15= £4 x 10 million shares in issue) chicken feed to Tesco and they can get on with things now not six months later. Other views? DYOR

[gengulphus] 07/8/2007 20:36

"...everybody else no longer really counts at all, but is just along for the ride." LoL - At least I got a laugh at the end of the day! :-)

;-)

Just to be clear, though, I wasn't just talking about small shareholders - I mean everybody else. If Tesco's and Tom Hunter's stakes stay where they are, big institutional shareholders with say a 5% stake in the company could have a lot of influence. But if Tesco's holding rises to over 50% and Tom Hunter's stays where it is, that same 5% shareholder has no more influence than you or I...

Gengulphus