Rpc Share Discussion Threads

[whatsyourgame] 20/2/2019 11:42

Apollo's BoD and indeed the market as a whole must now surely reckon that its offer is as good as dead in the water, with next to no acceptances thus far and with the share price remaining stubbornly above the value of their offer, they can't even buy RPC shares in the market. Even if their advisors' fees are skewed towards a success only basis, they must nevertheless have spent a good few millions in getting to this stage. Of course, should they fail and be forced to walk away, they could always return with revised terms in 6 months' time.
Meanwhile, one can't help but think that the business may have been damaged, or at best failed to progress over the past 5 months as a result of Apollo's protracted involvement, possibly all for nought.

[billywhizz1] 20/2/2019 10:49

Re. my last post.
Looking at it logically, when you strip away all the window dressing, the only real gamble I'm taking is Apollo's bid winning the day, but IMO, I don't think that's gonna happen. Set this against a possible Berry bid over 8 quid, or a return to the status-quo.

[jeffian] 20/2/2019 10:17

I agree with squidsgone (#3087). Whether or not a counterbid from Berry materialises, just because Apollo's bid may be the only one on the table doesn't make it any more acceptable. I shall be voting against, fully understanding that the share price would weaken again in the short term if the bid is rejected. I'm in this for the long haul.

If the bid does succeed, a by-product will be that it completely screws up my tax planning as a substantial part of my holding - the second biggest in my portfolio - is outside ISA's and will incur a substantial CGT liability unless they offer a Loan Note Alternative or some other device to defer crystallisation of the gain. Bah!

[phillis] 19/2/2019 20:17

After all you are currently being offered a premium to Apollos offer price
Why be greedy?

[phillis] 19/2/2019 17:06

boul

you should sell now then

[squidsgone] 19/2/2019 15:41

'No' to Apollo either way

[bouleversee] 19/2/2019 15:36

I suppose there couldn't be collusion between the managements of Apollo and Berry to keep things on hold till the last moment to put off any other potential bidders and then Berry would pull out? I've got to the stage where I don't trust anyone.

[billywhizz1] 19/2/2019 14:13

Looks like this is heading for yet another 'Balls-Up'. However, I'll be true to my word and hang on to my shares, as per my past posts. My wife says that I'd have a better chance if I sold the shares and bunged the money on the 2:1 favourite in the 2.30 at Cheltenham, the annoying thing is, she's probably right

[whatsyourgame] 19/2/2019 12:34

Firstly, I think any offer by Berry would have to be in cash, or at least cash + convertible loan stock, since their equity is not quoted outside the U.S. To have any chance of success, they would need to comfortably outbid Apollo's cash bid, and in the absence of a quantified offer by the date of the Court meeting as a minimum, they would to state unequivocally that their proposed offer would exceed Apollo's. Anything less, simply wouldn't wash. Hopefully, they will clarify their intentions over the next 1-2 weeks.

[bouleversee] 19/2/2019 12:21

Good point, cashcow. I see the announcement posted here earlier says they have to announce their intention to make an offer, which reinforces the point I was making. So if by any chance they only said they were going to make an offer but didn't say what it would be, what would happen to the court meeting? Without knowing what the offer was, how would anyone know how to vote? We wouldn't know if it was to be a cash only offer, which would presumably be at a higher price than Apollo's, or an equity offer or mixture of the two and in what proportions. What normally happens in these circumstances?

[cashcow5] 19/2/2019 11:44

I don’t mean to split hairs but do Berry have to actually make an offer by 13th March or simply announce their intention to make an offer?

[whatsyourgame] 19/2/2019 11:03

bouleversee - but the tightness of the timetable surely works both ways - one cannot imagine institutional (nor indeed any) shareholders accepting the Apollo offer until they see what, if anything, is on the table from Berry. Given all the spoon-fed information they have been provided with by RPC, they will surely already have a very clear view by now as to whether or not they wish to proceed.
Let's hope they don't do another "Apollo" on us by dragging things out to the nth degree which frankly became ridiculous in my view.

[whatsyourgame] 19/2/2019 10:53

Pretty modest profit growth over the next 3 years to say the least ... one assumes that the incentivised executive directors would have to perform a great deal better than is being forecast here to earn their $millions.
Perhaps the most crucial element of the forecast are the two words "at least" which have been included.

[bouleversee] 19/2/2019 10:48

So Berry has to make an offer by Mar. 13 and the meeting to approve Apollo's offer is on March 20. Not much of a gap to consider everything if Berry left it till the last moment.

[bouleversee] 19/2/2019 10:43

It's followed by this qualification which is rather a contradiction and somewhat meaningless:

"It is inevitable that there is a degree of inherent uncertainty relating to the 3-year Profit Forecast given the duration of the period which the forecast covers. The 3-year Profit Forecast should therefore be read in this context and considered accordingly."

[jeffian] 19/2/2019 09:50

What about this bit?


"The 3-year Profit Forecast is expected to follow the phasing below. In each case the RPC Group's adjusted operating profit, as described further in Part 6 of the Scheme Document, is forecast to be at least the amount shown in each period.



Financial years ending 31 March



2019

2020

2021

Adjusted operating profit - Core business (including Nordfolien) (£m)

415.0

440.0

464.3"

[whatsyourgame] 19/2/2019 08:51

UK TAKEOVER PANELS GIVES BERRY GLOBAL DEADLINE FOR RPC TAKEOVER OFFER
[ 19 Feb 2019 08:40 ]
LONDON (Alliance News) - The UK Takeover Panel ruled that Berry Global Group Inc must announce its intention to make an offer for plastic packaging manufacturer RPC Group PLC by March 13.

[crowdie] 19/2/2019 08:20

RPC Group announces publication and posting of Scheme Document
Tuesday, February 19, 2019 07:18:05 AM (GMT)

• On 23-Jan, the boards of RPC Group and Rome UK Bidco Limited announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash acquisition by the Bidder of RPC's entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital , to be effected by way of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006
• RPC announces that a circular containing, amongst other things, a letter from the Chairman of RPC, the full terms and conditions of the Scheme, a statutory explanatory statement, an expected timetable of principal events, notices of the Court Meeting and General Meeting and details of the action to be taken by RPC Shareholders, together with the related Forms of Proxy, is being published and sent today to RPC Shareholders

[jeffian] 14/2/2019 18:38

Yes, I saw that. That's why I raised it. Apollo are always referred to as a shareholder in Berry.

[redartbmud] 14/2/2019 17:36

The Vanguard Group, Inc. …................. 8.71
Canyon Capital Advisors LLC .......…..... 6.65
Luminus Management LLC ..…............. 4.95
Viking Global Investors LP …................ 4.23
TIAA-CREF Investment Manag'mt .…..... 3.94
BlackRock Fund Advisors …................. 3.94
Eminence Capital LP …,,,,,,,.,,,,,,,,....... 3.67
Massachusetts Financial Services ....... 3.18
Turtle Creek Asset Management …...... 3.18
AllianceBernstein LP …,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,........ 2.65
Total ...................45.10

[sogoesit] 14/2/2019 16:56

On the Berry Global shareholders issue Eminence holds 3.65%.
Apollo does not appear anywhere I can see, apart from trawling SC 13 filings, so must be below the lowest large shareholder whose holding is 2.91%.

[billywhizz1] 13/2/2019 18:49

Eminence has now sold all its shares – an aggregate total of 2,422,370 controlled shares (7%) on the LSE and will now be unable to comply with its letter of intent. Confirmed by RPC yesterday.IMO that should really stuff Apollo.

[billywhizz1] 13/2/2019 15:56

Fair enough Jeffian, although as you point out, I did say "in my view", as we still have the 'if applicable bit', but I'll check that out. Anyway we'll leave it at that.

[ali47fish] 13/2/2019 15:22

is berry still in with a chance of a better offer anyone?

[jeffian] 13/2/2019 15:20

Assuming we've flogged that particular horse to death, can we change tack? Does anyone know what Apollo's current holding in Berry is? Back in 2014, after substantial sales, they still had over 20% although I can't see them on the major shareholders' register now, but I believe they are still shareholders. Their pals Eminence appear to own nearly 4% of Berry. In those circumstances, isn't it all a bit incestuous? What's to stop Apollo/Eminence applying pressure on Berry not to bid?